T Nation

Sav's Log

Training Logs
#1

Hello all,

First proper post here - had an account for a while but never really got involved in the forums. I’m posting my log here to give my training some more accountability. Maybe people will shout at me if I miss posts :P. Apologies for the below - it’s probably going to be stupid long so I’ll post my training in the next post.

My training got sidelined towards the end of last year due to injuries and illness - and I have only just started up again these last couple of months (Feb). I had to start almost from scratch, and have been trying to build up some strength and gain some weight again.

I was an idiot though, and didn’t start doing any cardio. So now I’m pretty out of shape and holding a lot of extra fat. The last month or so I’ve added in cardio on all my work out days (was doing 5/3/1 4 times a week 2 upper/ 2 lower split). Adding this in made me have to split my workouts in two so I ended up at the gym 8 times a week. This has added up over the last couple of months and my lifts have started going backwards.

I do like the 5/3/1 program and general philosophy behind it. So I’m switching to the 3-day program, and performing 3 sessions of cardio work, ideally at least 2 of these will not be on lifting days. I’ll outline my program later - any feedback is always appreciated.

I also need to take a look at my diet, I need structure otherwise I tend to eat crap more often than I’d like. In line with this I’ve got the following simple diet in mind:

Breakfast

  • 200g chicken
  • 40g mixed nuts

Shake

  • 50g whey
  • 35g oats
  • 300ml milk
  • taken with fish oil

Lunch

  • leftovers from dinner - with a bit less carbs

Shake

  • as above

Dinner

  • 200g chicken (or another lean meat)
  • 1.5 cups rice (or potatoes/sweet potatoes)

This comes out to 2400 cals, P/C/F = 255/205/60 (approx.). I’m looking to drop some of the extra weight - although relatively slowly, and hopefully keep gaining a bit of strength.

Current stats are:
Age - 24
Height 5’8
Weight - 90-95 kg
Body fat approx 25-30%

Ideally I’d like to get my body fat down to the 15% mark - this roughly equates to 13kg (at worst). I’ve got a holiday planned at the end of October, 19 weeks away, and I would love to be in shape for this. Hopefully by staying consistent and making some small adjustments I can get pretty close to this.

If you have anything to say, or criticism - let me know. Look forward to chatting to you all

Cheers,
DS

#2

So my general training is outlined as follows:

Monday
– Squat ? 5/3/1 sets/reps
– Bench ? 55%x5, 65×5%, 75%x5
– 5x10 Chins/Dips superset

Wednesday
– Deadlift ? 5/3/1 sets/reps
– Press ? 5/3/1 sets/reps
– 5x10 DB OH Press/Upright rows superset

Friday
– Bench ? 5/3/1 sets/reps
– Squat ? 55%x5, 65%x5, 75%x5
– 5x10 Chins/Dips superset

With 30 minutes of cardio on Tue/Thur/Sat (maybe moving Sat to another time in the week). Cardio will be either - Incline treadmill sprints, or cycling.

This will be starting next week on a newly lowered TM. Goals for the training would be:

  • Keep strength (I should be able to gain some old strenth back whilst losing weight)
  • lose weight
    – and if possible help with the ol beach muscles for my upcoming holiday (this would be arms/shoulders, with leanness making everything else look better)

Updates to come Monday…

#3

Day 1 of the new routine was yesterday:

Squats 3x5 @ 80, 90, 100 (5 reps on top set. Even though I’ve lowered my TM this still felt pretty tough)
Bench 3x5 @ 50,55,65
Chins/Dips: 5x10 (on assisted machine. I want to work up to bodyweight on these. Have been doing assisted pullups (pronated) and dips previously - the chins seemed weirdly hard)

Am off to do my cardio today:
30 mins incline treadmill. Warm up then 10, 30-second sprints, with as much rest as needed between. This is usually 1-2 mins. The “sprints” are hardly that though - more just “running” at the moment but I’m working this up slowly.

#4

Day 2 yesterday:

Deadlifts 3x5 @ 120, 125, 135
Press 3x5 @ 40, 45, 45
Upright rows/DB presses: 5x10 (first time doing upright rows - still trying to feel these out. Anyone have any suggestions? I was just using a straight bar)
Lateral raises (3x10 - paused reps)

Am off to do my cardio today:
30 mins stationary bike

#5

Sorry - have not had a chance to post in a while.

Day 3 was Friday, (3rd Jul):

Bench 3x5 @ 65,70,70
Paused Squats 3x5 @ 60,70,80
Chins/Dips: 5x10

Cardio on Saturday was 4 rounds of the following circuits:

  • 30s jumping jacks
  • 30s mountain climbers
  • 30s burpees
  • 30s walking lunges
  • 30s jumping jacks
  • 30s mountain climbers
  • 30s burpees
  • 30s walking lunges
  • 30s rest

Day 1 of this week was Monday:

Paused Squats 3x5 @ 60,70,80
Squats: 3x3 @ 90, 95, 100
Bench 3x5 @ 50,55,65
Chins/Dips: 5x10 - the chins are feeling a bit better after doing them for a few sessions now.

Stuck to the diet plan 100% last week - with a meal out on Sunday afternoon as a treat. This is an area where I typically don’t fare too well - so hopefully I can break this in as a habit