Wooderson's Training Log: Fat to Fit

[nburge]

I am putting the excess behind me though. Part of my training is not simply to get strong and get in shape, but this is phase one of a three phase training for me to climb Mt. Everest, and it's time to throw off distraction and get serious.

Good ambition! I climbed Kilimanjaro a few years back and wanted to do the 7 summits (highest peak on each continent). I was going to go for Elbrus this year, but then I realised it was a bloody expensive hobby (everest alone costs about £50,000 in park fees if you intend to summit). Would love to do it though.

I wouldn't worry so much about the beers. You won't do it every weekend, and as long as the training is there and the diet is right most of the time my guess is the waistline will head in the right direction. Good luck wtih it.

[Wooderson]

Workout #22

• Squat: 5x5 x 150
• OHP: 5x5 x 115
• Deadlift: 1x5 x 150
• Barbell Row: 3x5 x 140
• Prone Bridge: 3x30s
• Elliptical: 45m

Interesting day. Loving the squats right now.
The OHP was good. The last two sets were tough, but I didn't break form. I am hoping there isn't another plateau, but I'm just adding 5lbs from now on rather than 10lbs.
Barbell Rows I did the first set @ 150lbs. I could tell I was going to strain on it, so I dropped to 140lbs. But then I did four more sets because I forgot I was only supposed to do three. So next time I do this workout I'll do 145lbs on the rows.

I used a different type of elliptical than I typically do. I ran at a higher average RPM than usual but it told me I did 4.5 miles rather than 6 miles. So I'm guessing that the ellipticals don't know jack when it comes to calculating equivalent miles. Going forward I'm just going to add five minutes to the total time on the elliptical every 10 workouts. I think I am moving into a period where work has slowed enough that I'll be able to hit the gym daily which is good b/c I want to do cardio daily.

I climbed Kilimanjaro a few years back and wanted to do the 7 summits (highest peak on each continent). I was going to go for Elbrus this year, but then I realized it was a bloody expensive hobby (Everest alone costs about £50,000 in park fees if you intend to summit). Would love to do it though.

Very cool. I have never done mountain climbing. Part of my goal is to get to the point where I'm doing 30 - 50 pullups and can do rock climbing with great strength. I also want to do marathons at altitude such as Sante Fe, New Mexico which is at 2100 meters. Now that's nothing compared to the 8000 meters of Everest and other Himalayan mountains, but it'll be good. I plan to do Mt. Rainier as well for a "starter". But that's all a five-year plan. Five yers to get in ridiculous shape as well save the money for Everest!

[Wooderson]

Workout #23

• Squat: 5x5 x 155
• Bench: 5x5 x 145
• Inv. Row: 3xF - 11/9/7
• Push Up: 3xF - 15/11/10
• Rev. Crunch 3x12
• Elliptical: 45m

I broke new numbers in both the inverted row and in pushups today.
The squats felt much harder @ 155 than they were @ 150. I have not been doing any warm up sets and I noticed the last set was significantly less difficult than the first. Warm up sets will appear next time.
The bench is getting hard. Rather than add 10lbs and go to 150 like I have been doing, I decided last time to only add 5lbs each time going forward. Since the weight is getting tough, I want to try to prevent stalling or at least push it out a bit farther.

[bobu]

Great progress! You could probably switch to weighted pushups now. I have a 20# weight vest and then have my wife pile more weights on my back as needed.

[Wooderson]

Great progress! You could probably switch to weighted pushups now. I have a 20# weight vest and then have my wife pile more weights on my back as needed.

Srsly? I was hoping to get to where I could do 30 in a row before I had to stop. I guess that would be more endurance than strength though. Thanks for the tip.

[tuffnutts]

Looks like you're making really good progress! Keep going!

It's been about 6 weeks since you last measurements, and it had looked like you were definitely losing where it counts. Any new measurements?

[Wooderson]

I decided measuring once a week was overkill so I'm just doing it the first weekend of every month. Scheduled for tomorrow AM actually. I missed the first of June b/c I was out of town for a week.

[Wooderson]

Workout #24

• Squat: 5x5 x 160
• OHP: 5x5 x 120
• Deadlift: 1x5 x 160
• Barbell Row: 3x5 x 140
• Prone Bridge: 3x30s
• Elliptical: 45m

Ok, squats are getting challenging. I think I probably still have another 25 lbs - 40 lbs before my first stall, but we'll see. Liking them.
The OHP was awesome. One month ago 110lbs was a form buster it was so hard. Today 120 lbs was difficult, but form was retained.
I am beginning to wonder if I am doing barbell rows correct. Maybe it's due to the weight, but I feel like my form is sucking. I'm going to watch some vids and I may drop the weight for a couple of weeks.

[Wooderson]

Wow, so pretty huge monthly update.

The only thing I have done since late May to measure progress is to step on the scale, and stepping on the scale has been a huge letdown. Every time I do, my weight has not changed. After going through the total inventory today, I am just amazed at what has happened in five weeks. Totally just amazed.

In general my food has been horrible. I'll eat half clean, half crap. I've been drinking a bit more than I should (and by a bit I mean a lot). I can only imagine how much better these results would be if I was operating optimally.

Monthly Update

Vitals
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 257.1 lbs, up .1 lbs since start
Body Fat: 27.4%
Lean Mass: 186.7 lbs

Since starting StrongLifts 5x5:
Fat lost: 14.4 lbs
Muscle gain: 14.5 lbs

Measurements
Fatty areas
Neck:18.00", down .5"
Chest: 45.00", down 1.25"
Waist: 47.00", down 3.0"
Hips: 47.00", down 1.25"
Muscle Areas
Bi/Tri: 15.00", up 1.25"
Forearm: 12.125", up .125"
Thigh: 27.50", up 1.25"
Calf: 17.5", up .25"

Since starting StrongLifts 5x5:
Inches lost in fatty areas: 8"
Inches gained in muscle areas: 2.9"

5x5:
Squat 160lbs
Bench 145lbs
OHP 120lbs
Inv.Row 27
Push Ups 36
Deadlift 1x5 160 lbs
Barbell Rows3 x5 140 lbs

Monthly photo:

[Wooderson]

Workout #25

• Squat: 5x5 x 165
• Bench: 5x5 x 150
• Inv. Row: 3xF - 9/10/6
• Push Up: 3xF - 6/5/4 w 25lb weight on back
• Rev. Crunch 3x12
• Elliptical: none

The 25lbs on my back for the push ups made one hell of a difference. I'm going to start doing that with 5lbs until I can get to 30+ total again, then add 5lbs and continue.

I didn't have time for the cardio today as I had to run home to take a shower before a client meeting.

The squats are getting serious.

[Wooderson]

Since discovering my progress over the last month, I keep wanting the time to hurry up and pass the rest days so I can get back to the gym to lift And I keep wanting those days to go by and let August 1st get here so I can see the progress that happens at that point.

Breathe. Enjoy the journey. There is no end. Every end is just a new beginning.

[Barry06GT]

Since discovering my progress over the last month, I keep wanting the time to hurry up and pass the rest days so I can get back to the gym to lift And I keep wanting those days to go by and let August 1st get here so I can see the progress that happens at that point.

Breathe. Enjoy the journey. There is no end. Every end is just a new beginning.

You got that right. The great thing about setting new personal records is the ah ha moment; the down side is "crap, now I have to add another 5 pounds!"

.

[Wooderson]

Since discovering my progress over the last month, I keep wanting the time to hurry up and pass the rest days so I can get back to the gym to lift And I keep wanting those days to go by and let August 1st get here so I can see the progress that happens at that point.

Breathe. Enjoy the journey. There is no end. Every end is just a new beginning.

You got that right. The great thing about setting new personal records is the ah ha moment; the down side is "crap, now I have to add another 5 pounds!"

.

It's more the idea of how much fat can I replace with muscle! I was so shocked by that.

[Wooderson]

Workout #26

• Squat: 5x5 x 170
• OHP: 5x5 x 125
• Deadlift: 1x5 x 175
• Barbell Row: 3x5 x 140
• Prone Bridge: 3x30s
• Elliptical: 45m

Ok folks, I need your help!

Today was tough. Squats were no issue, and neither were deadlifts. I still have plenty to go before I plateau in them. The OHP and the Barbell Row are killers.

A month ago I plateaued with the OHP at 110lbs. Ok, so I've gone past that at 125 and I think I may be able to squeeze out 130, but I'll be surprised if I can do it without killing my form. So I'm wondering what to do... and that brings me to the BBRows...

I tried 150lbs on 6/30/09 and realized I wasn't going to be able to do it. I deloaded to 140lbs and have done that now the last three times I have done BBRows. The thing is, I don't know that if I go to 145 next time I will be able to do it. 140lbs is still very tough. I'm going to do 145lbs, but if I stall, then what?

So here's the question, as I begin to hit plateaus, what do I do? I deload to the prior weight, do it three workouts and then move forward as step one. But if I do fail to move up, then what? Move up and just do one set or as many sets as I can? Do ascending or descending sets? Pyramids? From reading I don't know what that step two is!

Any help will be appreciated. I do not want failure to be a self fulfilling prophecy, but I do want to know what to do when I encounter it.

[Barry06GT]

The simplest question often has the most complicated answer. This simple question has been asked by countless athletes over time. In my opinion the answer lies in trial and error and finding out what works for you, for that particular muscle group and specific lift. Some options are:
De-load and work your way up again. This does not seem to be working for you on the OHP right now.

Gargoyle made good progress by dropping the weight and doing super slow movements, I think in either OHP or bench press. You could try it.

Some people find answers in doing something else, gasp, not in the 5x5 program. Maybe a different series of shoulder/trap/delt work to make some helper muscles stronger; shoulder shrugs, side raises, etc. Then try OHP again. For example, if you have access to a pool, swimming laps is a killer good shoulder workout.

All I am saying is that you have to learn by trial and error. Try everything and you will stumble on to what gets you over this plateau this time. The next time it might be a different approach.
As frustrating as it seems, it is just another challenge that faces you.

.