Week 14 Day 1

My Workout schedule is all up for grabs I will take what I can get.

5'7"
180lbs
12% body fat
Age 35

Workout B

Front Squats: 95x5/135x5/155x2/

160: 5/5/5/5/5

OHP: 45x5 / 95x3

110: 4/4/4/4/4

Rack Pulls:

240: 1x5

Chins: 6/5/3

Post workout smoothy. We're having pizza for dinner and tomorrow all bets are off!

Too Busy to Exercise? Try this!

Good day fellow fitness fiends! I have a story to tell you, and this time it actually relates to staying fit and healthy in our busy busy world. For those of you who don't know my back story - I am a father of three young children, my wife and I work full time and my work often times requires me 6-7 days per week at various hours. For me to make a schedule and stick with it can be the challenge of all challenges. If you are half as busy as I am, you barely have time to read this article, so I will be quick and to-the-point.

The Dilemma.

My job has me at different sports venues nearly every weekend. Ice rinks, basketball courts, college gymnasiums and the like. As a matter of habit, I always have my "feed bag" with me to avoid consuming the venue food, and we all know how wonderful that stuff is. Anyone living a healthy lifestyle long enough has gotten into this habit. That being accomplished, I still have not yet mastered the art of fitting in a decent workout during these weekends. Sometimes the preparation for these jobs forces me to miss a possible Thursday or Friday workout too. These are usually accompanied by a long Sunday evening drive so Monday's workout is next to physically impossible. So usually I am freaking out imagining that I will wake up on Tuesday and somehow weigh 215lbs again! Fine, we have established that I am not right in the head, not news to me! But how do I get a week's worth of working out in just two days with adequate rest periods? Actually I can't, pure and simple. I risk injuring myself if I just power through the two days lifting on both days. Bad Idea!

My Solution.

Most people can find a way to accomplish this simple routine. It doesn't take much time and only draws a minimal amount of attention to you. But since you've gotten serious about your health, you stopped caring what people think anyway, right? This solution is specific to my own situation, but there are ways for it to work almost anywhere with nearly anyone.

Three strength exercises that go back to the basics, but are very effective: Push-ups, pull-ups and chin-ups. I managed to get in under the bleachers at the arena I was working at this past weekend. I did 5 sets of pull ups, 5 sets of chin-ups and three sets of push ups. I combined the push ups with a HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) formula that got my blood pumping and really felt great. It was a good enough workout that I was sore the next morning. If you cannot find anything to pull up from, the push ups can be just enough. You could even find a table and do some inverted rows underneath it, but that may be a bit risky. You don't even need a really tall area, cross your legs and bend at the knees. You could do pull-ups from a bar that when standing is only waist high. Just remember good form and don't cheat. For the pulls and chins, do 3-5 per set until failure. With your push-ups, do 20 as fast as you can while still maintaining good form. Rest for 30-45 seconds and repeat until failure. Trust me it won't take long to reach failure.

You may not have bleachers where you are, but you'd be surprised what you may find that is just right for some body-weight exercises. You could go a step further and keep a pull-up bar in your car. They have them with a twist extension so that you can fit it easily in a doorway with only a few turns, do your thing and then take it down before security sees you. But the point is try and get past those excuses, even if they are truly legitimate.

So that is my little blurb of advice. This will work in Hotel rooms and the office. Start out with some hip mobility stretches and perhaps some body-weight squats, or add that to your routine if you are in a hotel with no gym (which I seem to always stay at!)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Scott - Healthy Strong.blogspot.com

For more information on this and other subjects, visit one of the greatest resources on the inter-webs: Stronglifts

Healthy Strong Week 13 Day 2

Age 35

5'7"
181lbs
11.7-13.7% BF

Workout A:

Front Squat: 95x5 / 135x5 / 155x1

160: 5/5/5/4/0

I have been running a lot, it is catching up with my legs. Stopped early so to not overtrain.

Bench: 45x10 / 135x3

170: 4/3
160: 5
155: 4

Tired today - Think I will not pass this until I begin a calorie surplus.

Inverted Rows: Body weight

6/10/9/5

Dips:

+35lbs: 7/7/4

Not great, but I was tired and I still lifted, so that's good.

Goal Setting: Winners ALWAYS DO IT!

Write You Goals Down

Kind of a blanket statement with a lot of gray areas, but it is a plain fact. Every successful person will tell you, to some extent, that they have had a dream and that dream was realized once they obsessed about it. Earl Nightingale wrote, “The strangest secret in the world is that you become what you think about.” This is a really insightful quote, and I am living proof that it is true. I used to scoff that this ideal, like it was a lot of fluff thrown at us by the over achievers of the world, but it works. Not only have I bested every goal I set for myself, but that level of thinking has set me in better motion for achieving success in other areas of my life. My family, my job and my health have all improved due to a strict goal setting habit. Here’s what I did:

1. Set a 3 month goal, something you can conceivably accomplish. One of the biggest obstacles people face is setting unrealistic goals for themselves.

2. Write your goal down where you can see it everyday Try on your bathroom mirror, or in your car, at your desk at work. Those of you who know how, create a graphic that you can use as your desktop image on your PC. If you are like me you are on your computer all day and will see it a lot.

3. Read your goal aloud to yourself at least 3 times per day This is part of a mental awareness. This may seem corny, but it works. The biggest roadblock is your own mind.

4. Visualize your goal If your goal is to achieve a certain look – like most of us desire – then pick out a role model. Someone who looks like you want your body to look and concentrate on that everyday.

5. Take progress photos, they never lie.
Remember, you can develop a distorted self-image over time and never think you look good enough in a mirror. One tip: use a tripod and set it up so that every picture is framed the same way. Take a front view and a side view once or twice per month and compare.

These are 5 simple but effective rules that I have used in order to keep focused on success. Stick to it and you’ll succeed.

I have been overweight my whole life and now, I am overflowing with self confidence. My new goal is to stop spilling coffee on my shirt while posting on the forum!

Happy goal-setting!

Healthy Strong Week 13 Day 1

Age 35
5'7"
182 lbs
11.7% - 13.7% BF

Workout B

Front Squat: 95x5 / 135x5

155: 5/5/5/5/5

OHP: 45x5 / 95x5

110: 3/3/3/3/3

Rack Pulls:

235: 1x5

Pulls: (bodyweight)

5/3/3

Post whey shake and cottage cheese.

Scottymouth featured on Stronglifts!

Mehdi of Stronglifts.com posted my story and added his comments. This is a great honor for me and I invite you to read:

***SUCCESS STORY***

Mehdi,

When I found StrongLifts.com I was tight 38" waist and was pushing
220lbs/100kg with an estimated 25% body fat. I was sick and tired
of being that way and wanted to get thin quick. Using your advice I
started the StrongLifts Dumbbell 5x5. At 35, I wanted to be able to
keep up with my kids and not be an "old and fat" Dad.

Since then I have lost my job, then got a new one. I have 3 small
children whose daycare situation is always changing. Not to mention
getting sick and things of that nature. I have a wife who is a
beautiful skeptic and tight with our money. My schedule does
everything in "its" power to stop me from achieving my goals. I
have 2 herniated discs in my lower back, which I re-injured in May
using poor form on Deadlifts.

From February to March I was keeping track of my nutrition, but not
paying much mind to anything but protein. I was running 3x week and
lifting dumbbells 3x week.
I managed to get a sizable tax refund and convinced my wife to buy
a bench with Squat Rack and 300lb/135kg Olympic Barbell set.

I went full boar on the StrongLifts 5x5 program, but was too lazy
to work on form. I found out that my Squats were not low enough.
Then I hurt my back. I was feeling sorry for myself and making
excuses.

I woke up one day and read all of your posts again and got myself
motivated. I took 1 month and worked on my hip flexibility. In 2
weeks I was reaching parallel and in 3 weeks was Squatting ass to
grass.

My back still didn't like the Back Squats so I switched to Front
Squats and Rack Pulls. Since I began lifting and progressive
loading, I have deloaded 4 times. Mainly due to going back and
working on form and flexibility.

Then I read Tom Venuto's Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle.
(NOTE: for more info about this product, click here:
http://stronglifts.com/burn-fat-feed-muscle/ )

I started to experiment with different calorie goals, macronutrient
ratios and cardio. At this point my stats were:
Age 35
5'7"/1m70
196.6 lbs/89kg
19.5% body Fat

I was squatting 210lbs/95kg before I deloaded to work on my hips.
My last deadlift was 210lbs/95kg, when I hurt myself. This was
August 1st 2008. I set a 90 day goal and made it my desktop on my
laptop so I would see it everyday.

It read: "November 7, 2008 - 14% 185lbs and a quote: The strangest
secret in the world is that you become what you think about - Earl
Nightingale"

I started a 40-40-20 ratio and a zig zag calorie intake regimen.
20% of my maintenance for 3 days and 5% over maintenance for 3
days. I was doing cardio 5-6 days per week and lifting 3x week. I
got serious and watched the fat drop while maintaining LBM. In 1
month I achieved my 3 month goals.
Now:
184.4lbs/83kg
11.5% BF

My body was waiting to get into shape, and when I found the right
formula, it let me - even helped!

I have been so strict about my diet and my results were so obvious,
that I started to research even more. My friends and family started
to ask me questions. I started to post my opinions on the
Stronglifts.com forum to help others who were in my same situation.
It has been amazing.

I have my "feed bag" everywhere I go and I am ALWAYS exercising my
discipline.
When I have to travel I make the arrangements beforehand if I can
and exercise on the cheap in hotel gyms and if there is not one, I
do my own version of HIIT with Push-ups.

My goals are not yet achieved. But I am close. Once I achieve my
fat loss goal, I will then set new strength goals and go for them.

Had it not been for Mehdi and StrongLifts.com, I WOULD NOT be doing
so well. My discipline in nutrition and physical fitness has
factored into every part of my life, and I am a better Human Being
for it.

Thanks - I owe you my life.

- Scottymouth


>>>MY COMMENTS:

Great stuff. Several things here I'd like to emphasize.

* Scottymouth failed first before he "got" it. Failure will often
precede success. Some people give up when they fail, other stick
through. Scottymouth sticked with it, found the solution, and then
made progress fast.

* Weight lifting is the safest sport when looking at the rate of
injury. However if you use bad technique, you drastically increase
the risk of injury. Adding weight too fast, too soon, is common.
Injuries are often the only way to make you understand that this
isn't the right approach. As Napoleon Hill said "Failure is life's
best teacher".

* Scottymouth wrote he lost 8% body fat and 12,2lbs/6kg body fat in
1 month. This is about 3lbs/1.5kg per week. It's a lot, he might
have lost some muscle too (good way to know: strength loss usually
means muscle loss) which is possible since he was doing cardio
5-6x/week. Maybe he lost the fat in 1month and a half, not 1 month.
This would be 2lbs per week which is more realistic.

* And at last: Scottymouth has a wife, 3 kids, lost his job, had to
buy a squat rack, injured himself, failed, etc. But he didn't made
excuses, he went for it anyway. And he deserves the results he got
for this reason.

Again: great stuff.

New World Order Day 3 (Week 12)

Age 35

5'7"

181.6lbs

11.7-13% Body Fat

Workout A:

Front Squat: 95x5 / 135x5

150: 5/5/5/5/5

Bench: 45x10 / 135x5

170: 4/4/4/4/3

That last rep always screws me!

Inverted Rows:

5x5 - I think I may switch to these, I like them much better and I can add weight once my form is perfected.

Dips:

+35lbs: 5/5/5/5/5

Post WO Broccoli-Berry smoothie - this time it was 1/2 blueberry 1/2 strawberry with 1/2 the quick oats.

Kelly and I celebrate 6 years of marriage this weekend and the kids are getting ready to go over to my mother-in-law's. They call her Mimi.

10 Nutrition Rules from Stronglifts

Originally posted by Mehdi on Stronglifts.com, this is not my work, but I want you to read it.

StrongLifts.com’s 10 Nutrition Rules for Building Muscle, Losing Fat & Getting Stronger

Feb 27th, 2008 by Mehdi Posted in Nutrition

Image credit: vladounet

More strength is more muscle. More muscle is more calories burned, meaning a lower body fat. Strength training will make you build muscle and lose fat. But nutrition is also important.

• Strength & Energy. You need energy – calories from food – for weight lifting and for daily activities.
• Muscle Mass. Protein is necessary to build muscle & for muscle recovery. Nutrition can also minimize muscle breakdown.
• Body Fat. Fat is emergency storage. Your body holds on to fat when you don’t eat enough calories or don’t eat enough fat.
• Health. Testosterone levels, hydration, vitamins, minerals, fiber, … Your nutritional choices reflect your health.

The next 10 nutrition rules will take care of the above.

1. Eat Breakfast. Sleeping gets you in a catabolic state. Eating breakfast stops the muscle breakdown. Eating breakfast also helps fat loss by increasing the amount of calories you burn at rest.

Some breakfast recipes: scrambled eggs with veggies, oats & bananas, protein shakes, smoothies, etc. If you have problems eating breakfast, read the article on how to build the habit of eating breakfast.

2. Eat Pre & Post Workout. Pre workout so you feel full of energy at the gym. Post workout for muscle recovery & to replenish your energy levels.

• Pre Workout. 1 hour before working out. Proteins, carbs, some fat. Meat, rice, veggies for example.
• Post Workout. Directly after working out. Post workout shake of whey & oats. Or whole meal of proteins, carbs & some fats.

You burn more calories post workout so if you want to eat junk food best timing is post exercise (check rule #10).

3. Eat Every 3 Hours. Boosts your metabolism. Prevents cravings by keeping you filled with healthy foods. Provides you with the calories you need for energy and to gain weight. Example meal plan:

• 7am. Eggs with veggies — more breakfast recipes.
• 10am. Quark cheese with fruit.
• 1pm. Tuna, brown rice & pineapple.
• 4pm. Mackerel, brown rice & apple.
• 5pm. Workout.
• 6pm. Post workout protein shake.
• 7pm. Meat or poultry with potatoes & veggies.
• 10pm. Cottage cheese, berries, flax seeds & fish oil.

4. Eat 1g Protein per Pound of Body-weight Daily. You need protein to build muscle & for muscle recovery. Protein also boosts your metabolism: your body burns 25kcal per 100kcal protein ingested, which is more than for carbs or fats.

Get 1g protein per pound of body-weight. That’s 2.2g protein per kilogram of body-weight. Sources of protein:

• Red Meat. Beef, pork, lamb, deer, buffalo, etc.
• Poultry. Chicken, turkey, duck, etc.
• Fish. Tuna, salmon, sardines, mackerel, etc.
• Eggs. Eat the yolk, it’s full of vitamins.
• Dairy. Milk, cheese, cottage cheese, quark, yogurt, etc.
• Whey. Not necessary but great for easy post workout shakes.

If you weigh 150lbs/68kg, 1 can of tuna at lunch, 300g cottage cheese as snack, 300g meat at dinner and 500ml milk through the day gets you 150g protein. Check also these protein sources for vegetarians & vegans.

5. Eat Fats. Your body holds on to fat if you don’t eat fats. Healthy fats improve your health, satiate and are a cheap way to get your daily calories. Get about 30% fat from your diet. Balance your fat intake.

• Saturated Fats. Increase testosterone levels. Dietary cholesterol is not bound to blood cholesterol. Butter, whole eggs, red meat.
• Monounsaturated Fats. Protect against heart diseases and cancers. Olive oil, olives, mixed nuts.
• Polyunsaturated Fats. Increase testosterone levels, promote fat loss, decrease inflammation, … Fish oil, flax seeds, mixed nuts.
• Unhealthy Fats. Avoid margarine’s, artificial trans fats or vegetable oils like corn oil and sunflower oil.

6. Eat Whole Foods. Processed foods contain added sugar, trans fats, nitrates, corn syrup, sodium and more chemicals. Processed foods increase your body fat and are bad for your health. Eat whole foods.

• Whole Foods. Meat, fish, poultry, eggs, veggies, legumes, fruits, rice, oats, quinoa, …
• Processed Foods. Bagels, pizza, cookies, cakes, chips, fruit bars, cereals, hot dogs, bologna, sausages, fish sticks, frozen dinners, …

Breads, fruit juice, yogurts and many more are considered healthy but contain sugars, corn syrup, etc. Frozen veggies are processed but don’t have additives. Avoid what comes out of a box, cook everything yourself & read the labels.

7. Eat Body-weight in lbs x 18kcal Daily. Fat is emergency storage for your body. If you don’t eat enough calories, your body holds fat & burns muscle. You need muscle to increase your metabolism. And you need food for energy.

Eat your body-weight in lbs x 18 kcal daily. BW x 16 if you need to lose fat. BW x 20 if you need to gain weight. Don’t worry, you’re eating healthy foods, not junk food, makes a difference. And you workout, you burn more calories.

8. Eat Veggies and/or Fruits with Every Meal. Necessary for vitamins, fiber, minerals, … Green veggies have zero calories, which helps fat/weight loss. Some Super Foods are spinach, broccoli, pumpkin, berries, apples & tomatoes.

• Keep it Simple. Raw veggies work fine. Chopped chicory with rice. Raw carrots as snacks. Tuna salads.
• Learn to Cook. Check for recipes online. Learn to use spices. Practice, you’ll learn to make veggies taste good.
• Mind over Matter. You’re not a child anymore. Eat your veggies, you need them. Worst case make smoothies.

9. Drink 1 Gallon Water per Day. Strength training causes water loss through sweating. Hydration is important for muscle recovery. It also prevents water retention: your body holds on water if it doesn’t get enough.

Drink 1 US gallon water daily, that’s 4 liter. 2 glasses of water with every meal brings you close to 1 gallon. Drink the rest during your workout. Green tea is also good, but watch out with the caffeine content.

10. Aim for 90% Perfection. 6 meals per day is 42 meals per week. Eat 4 junk meals per week. Same rule for beverages: 90% of the time water, 10% of the time alcohol and soda. This gives you variation & helps fat loss.

What always worked for me is eating the same thing from Monday to Saturday. Friday/Saturday alcohol (social, not to get drunk). Saturday evening dinner out. Sunday afternoon junk food.

When you’ve applied the above 10 rules for at least 6 months, then you can try the Anabolic Diet, the Ultimate Diet, Intermittent Fasting, etc. But first learn the basics – apply these 10 nutrition rules.

New World Order Day 2 (Wk12)

Age 35

5'7"
181.6 lbs
11.7 - 13.7% BF (Accumeasure has some wiggle room)

Workout B

Front Squat: 95x5 / 135x5

145: 5/5/5/5/5

OHP: 45x5 / 95x5

105: 5/5/4/4/3

Man, when you take a break from this it really does a job on you!

Rack Pulls:

230: 1x5
Whew!

Chins: body weight

6/6/6

Finished up my day with two eggs over medium, slice of flax and fiber toast, cup of broccoli, whey skim shake!

On this day, Wednesday, I've managed to run every day so far, lift Monday and tonight, Friday is next, two more days of running.

I am so Hungry!!!!

HealthyStrong's Blog is brought to you buy Gyminee.com!

I hear people cry this all the time, my answer: "Then Eat!" The vast majority of people don't eat enough. Flat out, if your average Joe the Plumber guy (licensed and insured) were to log every calorie he has eaten in any given day I would bet my monkey wrench that he would find out that he ate about 1/3 to 1/2 of his needed calories. This may or may not be true in many cases depending on that persons dietary habits. Lets say for example that 'say it ain't so' Joe has a large Starbuck's coffee for his "breakfast", eats a typical fast food value meal for lunch and for dinner has a nice helping of his wife's famous Spaghetti with meat sauce. For our purposes here I will use an order of Pizza Huts spaghetti with meat sauce entree.

Coffee: Starbucks Caramel Macchiato with whole milk - Venti (20oz). This one was my favorite in my old life.
Calories: 380

Lunch: Joe likes his chicken sandwich, biggie fries and medium frosty from Wendy's.

Calories: 1,066

Dinner: Spaghetti with meat sauce

Calories: 600

Total: 2,046 calories.

This would be perfect if our handsome Joe weighed about 113lbs. Considering the average weight for an adult male these days is approximately 185-195lbs, I think Joe is a little light. Using the formula of 18 calories per pound you weigh to calculate your approximate maintenance level of calories, Joe should be consuming about 3,330 calories just to keep his manly plumber's physique. Depending on how tall and muscular he is - he may or may not fit the "plumber butt" stereotype.

Now, my formula was simple. Getting into the science of it is more involved and better to use if you are serious about getting a grasp on how the body works when it comes to its use and storage of energy.

I will admit, Joe's diet is less than healthy, even with the chicken. But in many cases with proper exercise and weight training, Joe could eat that way every day and look great. I am not sure how the rest of his health would fare and I am sure his body fat percentages may not be ideal, but when you are trying to lose or gain weight, there is only one thing to look at...first anyway...and that is calories in vs. calories out.

So, now let's imagine Joe was on a diet and instead of the food above, he chose to have black coffee, A healthy salad for lunch, and for dinner a small piece of chicken with rice and veggies.

Coffee (20 z) - 18 Calories

Healthy Salad - maybe 100 calories depending on how healthy.

Chicken dinner: 330 calories.

Total: 448 calories!

I eat that in a single meal! No wonder this person is hungry!

Let's go one step furthur and add the idea that your body will slow its metabolism down in order to compensate for the lack of energy on hand, IE: calories. First of all, it is going to try and store as much of that energy dense fat it can. At 9 calories per gram of fat, you body won't burn any fat you consume because it is too valuable a resource. It would rather burn the carbs and protein that you eat, then after that your lean mass, better known as muscle and vital organs. We are getting into the nitty gritty, but the more you starve yourself, the slower you metabolism gets, which means the lower your maintenance gets.

Let's now introduce the fact that 3500 calories= 1 lb of fat. This is AFTER your maintenance and whatever you burn walking, breathing, etc. If you maintenance is so low, it would not take much for you to go way over this level, once in a while. Add this up over time, and you can easily starve yourself fat. Not to mention, with your body storing fat and burning it's lean mass (muscle) your ratio of body fat to lean mass goes way up, increasing your body fat percentage and effectively decreasing your overall health. This leads to many illnesses, hypertension and high cholesterol being only two.

So that is me on the soap box for now. But when you see your friends and neighbors starving themselves, sit down together over a protein shake or lean turkey burger and open their eyes to how much they can really eat. They may thankyou and pay for the meal!

Later - Scott

New World Order Day 1 (Week 12)

Age 35

5'7"
181.6lbs
11.7% BF

Workout A

Front Squats:

95x5 / 115x5 / 125x2

140: 5/5/5/5/5

Bench:

45x10 / 135x5

170: 3/3/3/3/3

Row:

145: 5/5/5/5/5

Dips +35:

3/3/3/3/3 - Just getting back and I didn't want to overdo it.

Amazing first day back. I decided to lift at night, today was a big score. I am happy that tonight I flexed in front of a mirror and saw my ribs for the first time since I was 10. The abs are soon to follow.

I ran for 30 minutes this morning. Will do that everyday this week in addition to my lifting at night. I plan on being at 177 next Monday.

Scott

Welcome!

Welcome to the Florida Fitzy's who have joined in the fitness fun. My older brother and his wife have gotten on the less than beaten path of elevated fitness and nutrition awareness. Think of this as a grassroots movement, with a Yes We Can motto. Yes we can drop body fat, yes we can add lean body mass, yes we can live well into our 90's and yes we can be the model of healthy living for others in our lives.

When I started this adventure, I didn't have the luxury of a partner to share in the motivation. There was no one to help me with my nutrition goals, my fitness goals, nothing. Not that my wife wasn't supportive, she was, just not the kind of support one needs when changing a lifestyle. So I raise my whey skim shake in honor of a couple, whom I am grateful to mentor (as much as I can) in this new direction of healthy living!

I invite Jimmy and Tammy to post here, as authors, so this forum may grow.

Cheers!

Scott

Election Day Lifting and Progress

Age 35
182.0 Lbs
11.7% BF
5'7"

"B"

Front Squat:

95x5/ 115x5 / 125x5 / 135x5 / 140x5

OHP:

45x5 / 65x5 / 95x5 / 100x5 / 105x5

Rack Pulls:

225x5

Pulls:

4/4/3

OK - So here's the progress pic: