Pkant's Log

[Pkant2002]

So i had a bit of a dodgy weekend, I went to the gym on Friday but didn’t manage to go on Sunday as the GF had come to visit and she wasn’t happy me walking out the house for 2 hours or so. But anyway that’s not too much of a problem gave me some extra time to recover and my diet was still good.

On a better note i did manage to go today and complete Workout A, When i got into the gym i was feeling great, i had a bit of a stiff chest the last couple of days but this was gone and i felt ready to go. And did it show.

Squat 5x5 63kg Getting nice and low just below knee level with what i consider to be good form. As a beginner i got a great piece of advice of the net that you should not think of squatting as a up and down movement, but an out and in movement. This has defiantly helped me with my squats kept me more focused on my technique and it’s starting to pay off.

Bench Press 5x5 38kg Getting stronger and stronger now but still had to really work for the last set but it felt good once i was finished two PBs for squat and Bench now nice to see improvement week on week i must say. Though surely this won’t last forever.

Inverted Rows 3x10 So today i managed to increase the number of reps per set which felt good and i am pleased as it shows progression, though i am starting to wonder if only two weighted exercises is enough and maybe i should use the bog standard barbell row instead here. This is something to ponder on as i know form for this exercise is very difficult.

Push ups 3x12 Again they felt good had struggled with the last few reps a week or so ago but they are starting to come out nicely now, will try to up the number of reps per set next time i think.

Reverse Crunch 3x12 Was starting to get a bit tired by the time i got here and i felt a real burn today but still completed it with probably just one more rep in me we will see, might try to add another rep or so into each set next time.

In terms of diet still going very well, managing to get good wholesome food at each meal and cut out all snacking. Not only is this good for me in terms of keeping that fat off, but also for my diabetes as it allows me to get my main carbs ect in at breakfast lunch and dinner along with a shake here and there throughout the day.

At the moment loving going to the gym wish i had started earlier.

[Pkant2002]

You know when you have had a good workout, when your arms start to shake when you’re pouring the water from the filter and your legs start to shake when you walk up the stairs.

[Pkant2002]

So i went back to the gym today felt a little sore from yesterday but i had a long day at work today and needed to sweat a little bit.

Completed work out B

Squat 5x5 65kg
Overhead Press 28kg
Deadlift 2x5 43kg
Pull Ups 3x8 going to try for 3x10 next time.
Reverse Crunch 3x12 not really a fan of the prone bridge always feels a bit easy even with the one leg and different variations, may start to do something different instead, barbell rolls ect.

Diet is still going well.

6.30am Porridge
11.00am Banana
1.00pm Pasta with chicken and asparagus
2.30pm Whey protein Shake with one scoop of oats
7.00pm Hurricane XS half scoop of oats
8.00pm Skate wing with mushy peas and new potatoes (was amazing skate wing quite expensive but OMG)
I will probably have another whey protein shake just before bed about 9.30pm

Rest day tomorrow and i am looking forward to it legs are a bit wobbly atm hahaha.

[Pkant2002]

Whey Protein Shake 196 kcal 38g Protein
+
1 scoop instant oats 194 kcal 4.3g Protein

Hurricane XS 219 kcal 29.6g Protein
+
1 scoop instant oats 194 kcal 4.3g Protein

Belvita Breakfast x4 224 kcal 4.4g Protein

Banana 104 kcal 1.3g Protein

Whole-wheat breadx2 192kcal 8.4g Protein
+
2x Egg 180 kcal 12.6g Protein

Cod 140g 82 kcal 19.2g Protein

Baked Potato 198 kcal 4.29g Protein

Peas 100g 117 kcal 8g Protein

Total Kcal 1900 Total Protein 134g Protein


So i was interested to find out what sort of calories and protein I am taking in on an average day,this was my meal plan on Monday. At 130lbs and 5.8 my Protein intake is about right but I am well short on my calories. I think I may need to up this as it could be having detrimental effects on my muscle gains. Ps this is presuming I need to eat about 2500kcal a day. I think it can’t hurt to go over a little on my Protein intake, therefore by adding maybe one more Whey Protein shake with two scoops of instant oats that adds about 600kcal as well as about 46g of Protein. Anyone think that this is a wise option? or should i keep my calories at what they currently are as i don’t really want to put on Fat, I’m just worried that at my current calorie intake I’m having detrimental effects on my muscle gains potentially.

[Pkant2002]

Looking at my actually break down of what i ate on that particular day it seems i don’t eat very many greens, no lunch then and normally this would consider of some sort of salad with a protein source chicken fish ect so there is some more green there. I might try and add some spinach to things like eggs on toast and another banana each day.

[SpiderDan]

Vegetables (whilst not in the strictest sense necessary) are a pretty good source of vitamins and minerals....yes you should eat more of them.

Regarding calories as I said in another thread recently:

Track your weight and your strength. If they are both going up then you are likely building some muscle. If one or both is stagnant you're likely not eating enough.

@ 5'8" and 130lb I really doubt you'll be able to get fat....dont worry.

[Pkant2002]

Yeh i agree, in 2 weeks so far iv lost 1kg, im deffinatly getting stronger as its shown in my lifts so something is going wrong going to up my callories and see how i fare.

[Pkant2002]

Just a quick question as for the first time i weighed my protein shakes today, the hurricane XS suggests 2 heaped scoops for 100g which left me thinking that a scoop must be about 45g with 5 as its over the top, just weighed it and it wa only 35g. Have i got some sort of dodgy kitchen scales or are the heaped scoops meant to be volcanoe size?

[Pkant2002]

So I haven’t updated this in a few days so i thought i should write it down before I forget.

Went to the gym on Thursday after being at work from 6 to 6 felt rubbish and it showed, got into the Gym to complete workout A and failed on everything after about 3 sets, I put this down to being tired ect and went home. Due to my workout being so rubbish on Thursday I decided to go again on Friday and to prove it was just mind over matter.

Friday I felt good and my workout went well, i re did work out A again due to the day before not really counting.

Workout A

Squat 68kg 5x5
Bench Press 38kg 5x5
Inverted Rows 5x5 Changed from the body weight rows on the smith machine to the Bent over rows now, worked completely on form as i had never completed this exercise before only used the bar so all were done at 20kg.
Push ups 3x12 starting to feel stronger and the last set is a lot cleaner now will up the amount of reps next time.
Reverse Crunch 3x12 Again these felt good will attempt to increase the amount of reps next time.

Overall on the Friday my workout went well and I was glad to get back into the swing of things. Thursdays workout put me on a real downer after failing so hard but a long day at the office in meetings was the cause so I can’t really complain and after some rest over night i was back the following day. Off to the gym again on Sunday looking forward to it.

Squats are defiantly my favorite especially as it seems no one at my gym ever uses them or dead lifts and there a lot of Johnny Bravo people around makes me laugh, I feel like I have added information that they just done have.

[Pkant2002]

So went to Gym after work today and boy did i need it. Had a complete mare at work but i got in the gym and i felt good.

Squats 5x5 68kg Felt really comfortable getting nice and low seeing real improvements with this exercise.
Overhead Press 5x5 30kg Really struggled with this one last 3 sets the last rep was messy, will stick with the weight next time i go.
Deadlift 5x5 45kg So i did a few extra sets here as i felt good and the lifts were going well so i thought why not.
Pull Ups 2x10 1x8 attempted to increase the number of reps, first two sets went well but the third wasn’t happening will try again next time.
Prone bridge 3x30 mixed up a bit though in between each set i did 15 10kg weighted crunches felt good.

So still continuing to see good improvements, defiantly starting to feel stronger and really enjoying it. Had a little pick me up today at the gym a massive Hench guy came up to me and said he’d been watching me the last couple of weeks and spotted SL 5x5 told me i had tagged onto something really good that most people in here never heard of.

Made me think my gym is fairly large, i also work for a fitness company and i get to see the massive gyms and i see purchase orders each day. Less and less gyms buy squat racks, we sell a large amount of machine strength equipment and a few bits of free weights, and it shows.

I can walk into my gym peak time Monday at 6pm and the squat rack will be free no matter what all ways is, I don’t think i have seen a single other sole squat and deadlift but then the benches and the other free weights are rammed and you’re lucky to get one.

Made me think why is this, do people now go to the gym just for the sake of saying they have been to the gym and they complete easy ineffective exercises and the easier the better yet complain when they still see no gains.

Surely we all agree if an exercise if hurts and is hard work it’s much better than say pushing a steam powered squat machine were it does all the work for you. I really want to see someone else perform some squats and deadlifts so i can see what they are doing well ect in the flesh and work on my technique but also confirm to myself we are not a bunch of morons.