Year's End Day 4 & 5

Wednesday was a wash - I had the annoying pain in my neck/shoulder and it screwed up my workout. I am starting my new regimen on Monday - eating at a surplus and trying to gain LBM.

So Today was a great workout - but it doesn't "count" as such.

Workout A
5'7"
182.2
15% BF ( I decided to figure myself at 15% to adjust for the Acumeasure's lack of accuracy.

Front Squats: 95x5 / 135x2 / 155x2

160: 5/5/5/5/5

Whew!

Bench: 45x10 / 135x2 / 155x2

160: 5/5/5/5/5

Inv. Rows:

8/8/8/6

Push Ups:

10/10/10/10/9

Wow - that felt good, but I just couldn't get that last one done.

Reverse Crunches:

6/6/6, that was a devil of a workout.

POST WO SMOOTHIE

2008 vs 2009 My New goals

I rambled a bit up there and was vague about my goals.

2008 Achievements:

Found Stronglifts Jan 2008
Worked hard - did research
Used FitDay to track nutrition - began eating clean in February.
Started dropping weight and building muscle slowly
Injured my back in May
worked through the injury, slowly. Deloaded many times
Switched to Front Squats & Rack Pulls
Read Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle
Dropped 16 lbs of fat rather quickly decided to focus on fat loss and muscle maintenance.

Overall I reached my fatloss goals.

Came close to OHP goal of 110 and BP goal of 170 - but not quite 5x5 (Once I did 110 5x5 on OHP before my injury)

Goals for 2009:

Eat big and lift big.

Front Squat: 270lbs
Bench Press: 225lbs
OHP: 235lbs
Rack Pulls: 300 above the knee, then figure out a way to pull from just below the knee.
Inverted Rows: 20/20/20 before advancing to weighted rows.
Just started push ups - so goals: 20/20/20/20/20 before weighted push ups.
Haven't done prone bridges yet - but my goal is to get used to those and perhaps do 2 minutes x 5 (?)
Reverse Crunches: 10/10/10/10/10 while using the 35lb dumbbells.

Weight goal: 185lbs (166.5 LBM & 10% BF)
Waist: 32"

I am grasping at numbers here - so I will see what happens, my next step is to set these goals out in stages and write them out.

Best of luck to everyone in 2009!

Year's End Day 3

Age 35

5'7"
181.2lbs
12% BF

Workout A

Front Squats: 95x5 / 135x2 / 150x1

155: 5/5/5/5/5

Bench Press: 45x10/ 135x2 / 155x1

165: 5/5/5/5/5

Inverted Rows:

7/7/7/7/7

Dips:

12/12/12

Year's End Day 2

Workout B

5'7"
182lbs
12% BF

Age 35

Front Squat: 95x5 / 135x2

145: 5/5/5/5/5

OHP: 45x5 / 95x2

110: 5/5/4/5/3

Rack Pulls:

250: 1x5

Chins:

7/5/1/2

Rev. Crunches:

5/5/5

Goals in '09: "Baby Steps"

So, you are about to make it through the holidays and you are figuring out your New Year's resolution. Some of you may be giving up a vice or perhaps joining a gym on January 2nd. There are thousands of documented resolutions, but if yours includes losing weight and getting in shape I have a nickel's-worth of free advice for you: make your goals reasonable, you don't have to take over the world in one year; make your goals attainable and in stages. If you'd like to drop 30-40 pounds, don't simply set that as your total goal and start running; cut that goal up into smaller reachable units. It is much less daunting to say that you'd like to drop 10 pounds in three months, then the whole 30 or 40. This will help keep you motivated and on track, you will have a tighter deadline and see your goal weight getting closer sooner rather than later.

How many times have you been given a task with a long deadline and then ended up waiting until the last possible moment to do it? I did that all of the time until I finally sat down and wrote out my goals. I decided to go for it in 10 pound increments, and I found it was much easier to do. The next thing I knew, I was halfway to my goals in less time than I thought. I doubled my weight loss goals in the time I originally set. My results were due to hard work and strict discipline, but anything is possible if you keep it realistic. I have seen many friends and family members go full-boar towards a goal as lofty as losing 50 pounds during the year. The first 3 or 4 weeks they really try hard, but when they see that they still have so many pounds to go and they really haven't made a dent they lose confidence and motivation. This is why if you set those goals in smaller increments you'll feel great when you reach one and you will be excited to give the next one a go. Baby steps are the best approach. My favorite quote about this subject:

“He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk and run and climb and dance; one cannot fly into flying.” ~Friedrich Nietzsche

Best of luck and stay strong.

Scott Fitz

Year's End Day 1

Christmas Workout:
Beginner A

Age 35
182lbs
12% BF
5'7"

Front Squats: 95x5

135: 5/3/5/5/5

Bench Press: 45x10 / 135x5

155: 5/5/5/5/5

Inverted Rows:

5/5/5/5/5

Dips:

10/10/10

Rev. Crunches:

10/6/6

Post Workout Smoothie

Felt really good, really good!

Healthy Strong

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