Fitness, fitness, and more fitness!

Thank you.

Pilates....suck......

I decided to change up my routine recently.

I've been doing 5x5 exclusively since about may/june.

After a little research and talking to people I've decided to go with 5/3/1 by Jim Wendlay.

I ordered a couple books from amazon, starting strength by mark rippetoe and 5/3/1 for powerlifters by jim wendlay. I plan on ordering a few more next week. At least one on nutrition and cooking and one on anatomy and core strength.

I'm hoping to hit 3, 4, and 5 plates in the big 3 lifts, bench, squat and deadlift respectively by the end of the year. I'm about 40-50lbs away in each lift.

I feel like 5x5 is putting a little too much stress on this body. I'm hoping going lighter with more volume for awhile, maybe 6 months, will help me come back to 5x5 and plateau at a higher weight.

On Wednesday, I broke my PR on the squats. I did 190lbs for 8 reps with the full range of motion. For comparison, I weigh around 150 lbs. Now I wish I didn't have to move around so much!

This was my workout -
Squats: 45lb x 20, 95lb x 12, 115lb x 12, 135lb x 10, 155lb x 10, 190lb x 8
Single-leg leg press: 25lb x 4 x 15
Knee extensions: 70lb x 3 x 15
Lying leg curl: 30lb x 15, 50lb x 15, 70lb x 15
Seated calf raises: 35lb x 15, 45lb x 15, 70lb x 2 x 15

As I maxed out on my squats, my trainer reduced the intensity for the rest of my workout.

I opened my car door a few times today. That counts right?? My poor car needs to go in the shop tomorrow because I was stupid enough to mess with the throttle cable.

I actually did workout, but it wasn't anything worth mentioning.. just ran on the human mouse wheel for awhile and picked up a few of those round heavy things that are lying around all over the gym...

Academy.com is having a sale on iron weights. Less than $1 a lb. With shipping it worked out to about $1.20 a lb.

I needed some 45's so I think this was a good deal.

I've been looking at yard sales and craigslist for my area and no one is selling used olympic weights. It seems they only sell the 1" plastic covered concrete ones.

If I could have found some used rubber coated olympic weights at a good price that would have been awesome... But brand new, those rubber coated olympic weights are just too much...

I'd love to have some of your favorite recipes. I'm always looking for something new to try. I played tennis for years but I blew out a knee a few times so it's difficult to play now. I do yoga almost daily and I run with my dog. When I was younger I liked going to the gym but now I rather be outside. I find that it is so much more difficult to stay in shape in my 40s than it was in my 20s and 30s.

I eat a lot of meat and fresh veggies but I have sweets and carbs in moderation. I love to bake so it's a struggle.

What type of protein shake do you use? My biggest issue is not eating in the morning. If I don't prepare something the night before I skip breakfast. I know it's bad for me, but most days I don't eat until around 1 in the afternoon.

Have you got a gym in your home? Whoa, that is SO cool! You don't have to share with others!

Chest day went well. I did the usual stuff. Today is going to be cardio + calf. :/

I tell people all the time its easier to get in shape than out of shape.

That's why I'm so proud of my weak flabby body!

Yes. I built a squat rack out of 4x4's and attached them together with metal plates and hangers.

I use 1" black iron for the safety bars. Its really strong.

All my exercises are barbell exercises except I have a pull-up bar that attaches to a door frame and a leg curl/extension attachment on the end of the weight bench.

And a bicycle trainer that I got online for indoor cardio. Its too cold to consistently go outside.

Today was deadlift day. Tomorrow will be cardio.

Its definitely easier to stay in shape than try to get back into shape after a long lay off.

No worries, Brother; you've got style, and style will take you places! Word!

Ok ok, I may have exaggerated a tiny bit... here's my workout I tracked on fitocracy a few days ago after almost not working out at all for many months due to a difficult time I was going through....

And this workout was at 1:00am and it was just a light conditioning workout to stimulate my unused muscles without the risk of waking up sore the next day..

Are you sure you want to call a 20:00 min mile on the treadmill 'running'...?

lol

It looks like you are really on the way to getting into shape...

I got back from the gym at my typical 3am. I did quite a bit, but I'm feeling lazy so I probably won't workout for a few days tbh.

Tonight's workout:
Bike 5.0 miles
Squats 250lbs 4x10, 320lbs 1x1(lol)
Leg Press 750lbs 6x10
Seated Leg Press 235lbs 3x10
Single-Leg Leg Press 270lbs 4x5
Kneeling Leg Curl 75lbs 6x10
Leg Extensions 120lbs 3x10
Calf Raises 70lbs 5x10

Cross Cable Pull 70lbs 8x10
Incline Press 200lbs 3x10
Bench Press 150lbs 5x10
Seated Cable Row 160lbs 2x5, 145lbs 3x5
Pectoral Fly Machine 145lbs 3x5

I did some ab work and dumbbell/preacher curls too, but I didn't keep track of them. *shrugs*

I can only choose from the categories they give you. I used to run 4 miles in 40 minutes, but that was then...

Do you guys measure your body fat percentages? If so, what method of measurement do you use and/or prefer?

So....I signed up for a fitness class today, I will be doing it twice a week and then speed walking the other 2-3 days. It's time for me to get off my keister