Anand's Training Log

[Anand]

The gym i am in is more of a fitness gym more than a strength training or body building oriented one. Doesn't have a squat/power rack. so have to lift barbell from ground for squats

Used to go to the gym earlier (infrequently though). Worked more on upper body than core or lower body. i feel because of this i will have better initial progress in bench press, overhead press, push ups, inverted rows as compared to the other exercises

Current stats:
height: 6 ft
weight: 182 lb (82kg)
body fat: 23% . don’t have fat calipers to measure in my gym. using a machine which gives results using bio-electric impedance method.
no sure how much i can rely on the machine. The bf% number looks depressing. But for now i'll go with it.

starting with the beginners program as mentioned in the website
Week 1: routine ABA. Week 2: BAB
Days: Mon, Wed, Fri
A
- -
Squat: 5x5
Bench Press: 5x5
Inverted Rows: 3xF
Push ups: 3xF
Reverse Curls: 3x12
Cardio: elliptical, treadmill

B
-
Squat: 5x5
Overhead Press: 5x5
Dead lift: 1x5
Pull/Chin ups: 3xF
Prone Bridges: 3x30sec
Cardio: elliptical, treadmill

Starting with empty bar, focusing on from and technique, will slowly increase weight.

Target:
Duration: 3-4 months from start
Squat – 1xBW (~180lb)
Dead lift – 1.5xBW (~270lb)
Bench Press – 0.75xBW (~135lb)
Overhead press – 0.5xBW (~90lb)
Body fat – 18-20% (hopefully even less)
Loose the belly
weight: 172 lb (78 kg)

Current status (3 weeks from start)
Squat: 100 lb (55% of target)
Dead lift: 105 lb (39% of target)
Bench press: 95 lb (70% of target)
Overhead: 75 lb (83 % of target)
Inverted rows: 6/5/4
Push ups: 12/12/10
Pull ups: 5/4/3
Reverse curls: 12/10/8
Prone bridges: 30/28/25 sec
cardio: 20 mins
time between rep: 1-2 min

As of the last workout, maintaining form on squat is becoming difficult, heels are getting of the floor. Lack hip/ankle flexibility. Should help if i can focus on stretching regularly.
pull ups are not going that well either. weak back i suppose. using assistance for now. will eventually remove assistance and increase count per rep
dead lifts are relatively easy so far, the weight is not that much by most standards.
bench press, overhead press, push ups seem to be in good from. i am confident that i can continue to increase weight without loss in technique

[guru]

Hi Anand,

Great to see that you checked your ego at the door & started with empty bar.

As regards the hip / ankle flexibility, read this article. Do the leg swings & squat stretches before squats & other times whnever possible. If you find that heels are lifting off the floor, probably your knees are coming too much forward at the bottom. This article may be useful. Correct all form issues before you move on to serious weights. Squat rack / Power rack will soon become essential, so start looking for another gym which has this. I go to Leena Mogre's fitness which has a branch in Bangalore, but it may or may not be convenient for you. You may check it out.

Don't worry about pull ups. Till a few days back I could not do a single pull up & only 3 chin ups. Suddenly I found that I could do three pull ups. They come when you gain overall strength.

Deadlifts will be easy, at least till you get to 1xBW. Use this time to perfect the technique. You can also increase 10 lbs each workout on them. This will help it keep up with the squats.

All the very best.

[Anand]

hi guru, thanks for the comments

As regards the hip / ankle flexibility, read this article. Do the leg swings & squat stretches before squats & other times whnever possible.

the stretching exercises should definitely help. I'll be doing them on a regular basis.

If you find that heels are lifting off the floor, probably your knees are coming too much forward at the bottom. This article may be useful. Correct all form issues before you move on to serious weights.

you are right about the knees going out too forward at the bottom. i think its all related to bad flexibility in my hips and weak core. with time and regular stretching i am hoping to see better posture while doing squats. I'll keep the weight constant for now until i get better form. Or should i decrease the weight and keep stretching on the side until i get good technique??

Squat rack / Power rack will soon become essential, so start looking for another gym which has this. I go to Leena Mogre's fitness which has a branch in Bangalore, but it may or may not be convenient for you. You may check it out.

i already feel the need for a squat rack. As i am lifting the bar from the floor, each squat is equivalent to a power clean + a partial overhead press + a squat. So far it was ok as the weight was low, but i am starting to feel the strain on my shoulders and back. The Leena Mogre's gym that you mentioned is actually very close to where I stay. I will go check it out today or tomorrow. If it turns out that it has good equipments (most likely it does) and is priced competitively, then I'll shift into it soon.

Deadlifts will be easy, at least till you get to 1xBW. Use this time to perfect the technique. You can also increase 10 lbs each workout on them. This will help it keep up with the squats.

yeah thats what i am thinking of doing too.

well ... today is workout day. will go to the gym and see how it turns out to be

[guru]

Hi Anand,

The LM fitness at my place is offering a yearly membership for Rs. 10k, just for your info. They have good equipment at my place. Should be similar there.

Good luck.

[Anand]

Today's workout (Mon, 27th Apr)
Squat 105lb (5,5,5,5,5)
Overhead press 80lb (5,5,4,4,4)
Deadlift 115lb (5, 5)
pull ups (5,4,4) with assistance
Prone bridges (35, 35, 34) sec

did stretches before beginning squats. helped a bit. posture during squat was better than before. heels were on floor. was able to control knee from going forward. still have slight curving of back. regular stretching should fix this in time.
time between squat sets is increasing, almost 2 and a half min now( was <1 min when i began with empty bar). must work to get it down. < 2mins sounds reasonable for weight i am squatting

began stalling on overhead press(arrrgh ). Couldn't get a 5 rep on the last three sets. In the last set I almost lost form. Will stick to the weight until get a 5x5

did 2 sets on the deadlift instead of one set. don't know if this is a good idea.

[Anand]

hi guru,

i checkout the LM here in bangalore. they were offering yearly membership at Rs 14k. a so called special offer. regular price is Rs 18.5k . The place has good equipment, but is a little cramped and the ambiance is not to my liking. For now i'll stick with my current gym (talwalkers@10k per year). i'll have to improvise on squats somehow, maybe use the support on the inclined bench and begin with a quarter squat.

[guru]

14k is expensive, 18.5 is unthinkable, but I am surprised that talwalkars have no squat / power rack. It is supposed to be the biggest chain across India. I have not checked their local gym though.

[Anand]

there are other talwalker's in b'lore which have all the necessary equipment. but the one that i am in, opened recently and does not have a squat rack. it has plenty of other machines though, which i dont even want to get near to.

i'll try talking to the gym manager today. hope i can convince him to get one.

[guru]

there are other talwalker's in b'lore which have all the necessary equipment. but the one that i am in, opened recently and does not have a squat rack. it has plenty of other machines though, which i dont even want to get near to.

i'll try talking to the gym manager today. hope i can convince him to get one.

Good luck.

[Nilan666]

hello anand..nice to see another indian around here.

You will most definitely need the power rack. Tell the gym manager..it'll be useful for getting bench press done as well...as well as OHP/Shoulder press(use whichever term the manager is familiar with)...not to mention pull ups and chin ups....tell him it'll be economical for him in the long run

Otherwise..well you just have to shift the gym or drop the program which im sure you wont

[Anand]

hi nilan,

thanks dude, will try convincing the gym owner.
"drop the program" ... no way, just when i am beginning to see good results, not going to do that.

also there is a thread going on started be shree and guru, regarding some of the issues specific to desi's. do drop in and feel free to comment.

[Anand]

been on the beginners program for 4 weeks now, that's 1/3rd of workout time line i set for myself (3-4 months)
this is where i am after 4 weeks
(exercise - repXset target/current/percent target achieved)
squat - 5x5 180lb/110lb/61%
deadlift - 1x5 270/125lb/46%
bench press - 5x5 135lb/100lb/74%
overhead press - 5x5 90lb/80lb/88%
pull/chin ups - 3xF (avg of 4 reps per set, with assistance machine)
push ups - 3xF (avg of 11 reps per set)
inv. rows - 3xF (avg of 5 reps per set)
rev crunch - 3xF (avg of 10 reps per set)
prone bridges - 3xF (avg of 35 sec per set)

to achieve the target in another 2 months (8 weeks), i may have to change some things. this is what i am looking at

squats - 70 lb to go. thats about adding 3 lb per workout, that doesn't too bad bad, gives me some space to breathe, but its going to be tough. squatting 110 lb was the maximum i ever did.
deadlift - 145 lb to go. thats about adding 12 lb per workout, oh boy that does not sound good at all, its downright scary. currently i am incrementing by 10 lb per workout instead of the recommended 5 lb, looks like i have to bump it up a little more. not a pretty picture.
bench press - 25 lb to go. adding 5lb per workout i'll reach my goal in a little more than 4 weeks( allowing for stalling at higher weights). if things go as planned I will have to upgrade bench press goal to 1xBW (180 lb). this goal would be a challenging one
overhead press - 10 lb to go. adding 5lb per workout, i should be done in a little more that 2 weeks (allowing for stalling at higher weights). will have to upgrade over head press goal 0.75XBW (135lb). oh boy oh boy cant wait.
pull/chin ups - long way to go to get to 12 reps per set without assistance for 3 sets. don't know when i going to reach it. for now i think i am going to drop assistance and try to do the exercise. This would mean a drastic drop in reps per set compared to what i am doing now ( 4 reps). i might be able to do 1 rep for pull ups and 2 reps for chin ups without assistance.

guys i have a question here: during the pull/chin up if the bar dosen't get to the upper chest, can i call it a successful rep?

inverted rows - looks ok for now. will try and go for 3x8, or try to add weights.

one good thing i am see with regular pull/chin ups and inverted rows is that my upper back is becoming more defined, i can see some muscle they, happy about it. cant wait to see what 2 more months of this program will do

[Anand]

6th may'09,

current stats
squat - 120lb (5x5)
deadlift - 140lb(1x5, 1x3)
overhead - 85 lb (4x5, 1x4)
bench - 105lb (5x5)
pushups - 3xF (12/11/10)
pull ups - 3xF (4/3/2) - not using assistance anymore,
inv. rows - 3xF (6/5/4)
prone bridges - 3xF (38/35/35 sec)
rev crunch - 3xF (12/10/9) - using a 10lb dumbbell near head as support

[guru]

Hi Anand,

Goals are important. They let you focus, but don't let them become an obsession. You'll get there, and no one ever said that this is a 12 week program. See KIB's log. He's at it for more than a year & still making gains.

As for pulls / chins, you need to get your chin over the bar.

Good to hear on the back definition. Have you taken any before pics? If not, take them now. It helps to measure progress as do the actual measurements.

[Anand]

hi guru,

didnt intend it to seem like an obsession. just have the kind of time to make it work during this period to get to the goals.
guess i am a little excited(the happy anticipatory kind), thats all. Will eventually find my groove and settle into it.
definitely looking at strength training long term.

didnt take any pictures so far. i hear they can be good at motivation and checking progress.