Time to Man Up & Be Accountable

I am 35 yrs old, currently 293 lbs at 6’2" tall. I am married with a daughter who is 6 yrs old. I have lifted and been active in sports most of my life, but with no real goals. In Dec 2009 I weighed 417 with a pretty serious drinking problem and a marriage on the verge of failure. I have made major lifestyle changes since then including getting back in the gym and lifting as well as running. In the last year I have been battling Patellar Tendonitis and am starting to win the battle I think. I am trying to get more organized in my lifting program since it has kind of been all over the place and I have no record of what has helped or what hurt my progreess. My goal right now is to get down to 240lbs. What I have been doing as of late is:

Monday - Legs / Cardio (20 -30mins)
Tuesday - Chest / Shoulders / Cardio (20 -30mins)
Wednesday - Back / Cardio (20 -30mins)
Thursday - Cardio Only (60 mins)
Friday - Cleans / Cardio (20 -30mins)
Saturday - Cardio (20 -30mins)
Sunday Rest or mild Cardio

Leg Days
Single Leg Squats 5 x 5
Lunges 3 x 8
Single Leg Press 3 x 8
RDL’s 4 x 8
Leg Curls 3 x 8

Chest Days
Incline Barbell Bench 3 x 8
DB Flat Bench 3 x 8
Decline Bench 3 x 8
Seated Shoulder Press 3 x 8
Rear Flys 3 x 12
Tricep Ext 3 x 8

Back Days
Assisted Chin Ups 5 x 5
Barbell Bent Rows 3 x 8
Lat Pull downs 3 x 8
DB Rows 3 x 8

Clean
Hang Cleans or Power Cleans 5 x 7

Cardio has primarily been walking will intervals on tread mill, run / walk intervals on tread mill and riding the stationary bike.

I have also started tracking my diet alot closer and have lost 10 lbs in the last 2 weeks. I am sure most of it was water weight but hey its progress. Any suggestions you guys might have would be greatly appreciated.

Pic from summer 2009

Picture from this past summer running with my nephew.

By God! Your progress is amazing!

Thank you! I was at the point in my life of get busy living or continue down the path I was on and die.

Great work. That’s inspiring as hell.

Thank you. Reading thru your log is what pushed me to start my own. I hope your settling into a routine and sticking with it.

Welcome, JC.

JCMPG,

125 lb weight loss is pretty awesome, well done. You are a better man than me, six days of cardio takes a lot of willpower for a big fella, so it seems like you are one of those guys that will hit their goal.

Awesome just awesome

Kudos on your results thus far–very few people are able to accomplish what you have. I’d like to hear about the dieting strategy you employed to lose so much weight, and what you’re doing going forward.

Thank you guys! The diet strategy thus far has moderation and counting calories. The amount of cardio I was and have been doing sort of allowed me to eat what ever I wanted just as long as I was at or under my cal target of 1900 a day. In Oct of 2011 and April 2012 I ran 2 half marathons and was running on avg 12 - 18 miles per week plus doing the elliptical trainer 2-3 times per week for 30 - 60 mins. Plus I was doing a full body lifting routine 2 days per week just to maintain muscle.

In doing all of that I actually got down to 265lbs. Since the half marathon I have been fighting a knee issue and have had to cut the running out almost all together as well as using the elliptical trainer, and not really having a good diet plan I yo-yoed back up to 310lbs. The diet plan is the thing I struggle with the most, I have combated that to this point by adding more cardio which is not going to work forever so I am know tracking everything diet and exercise to make my self accountable hence the name of the log.

Sunday -

20 mins cardio
Hill Intervals on TM
2 mins @ 4% incline
2 mins @ 8% incline

Split Sqauts
40 lb DB’s 3 sets of 6 reps
45 lb DB’s 1 set of 6 Reps
50 lb DB’s 1 set of 6 reps

V-Squat Machine
3 x 8 @ 180lbs

Single leg Leg Press
3 x 8 @ 270lb

Leg Press
8 reps @ 450 lbs
8 reps @ 540 lbs
8 reps @ 630 lbs

RDL’s
3 x 8 @ 225

Standing Single leg leg Curls
3 x 8 @ 60 lbs

Monday
20 mins Cardio
Hill Intervals
2 min @ 4.5% incline
2 min @ 9.5% incline

Weight this morning 293 lbs

Awesome work in here man!

I like using the bike for my people with bad knees or even better is swimming.

Keep your eye on the prize.

fisch

Thank you Fisch. I has recently released from 10 weeks of PT for Patellar Tendonitis from all of the running I was doing. To many miles at my weight and I am a major over pronator. I still run about once or twice a week but only do run / walk intervals for 20 - 30 mins, I also ride the bike but just dont feel like I am getting the best bang for my buck in terms of cals burned per time spent.

My knee is doing much better and I only have a small amount of tenderness when I apply direct pressure to the area. I need to incorporate some mobility work as I am tight as a fiddle string. My biggest hurdle right now is what I eat, not how much just what.

As a uh, fairly heavy guy (6’ 270-285)… (with bad knees)…

I find bicycles marvelous cardio. It is a love of mine anyway. I ride long slow rides. A lot less wear and tear on the body, joints especially.

Calories burned per hour can be higher then running, second only to swimming. Bicycling is like lifting or running, it requires a good bit of thought. If you wish to max calories per hour, then look into interval training. PM if interested…

However, I’m hard on equipment. I ride a tourer and carry tools and spares… Busted a couple wheels, upgrading frame this winter.

Anyway, I’d suggest a mountain bike as 26’ wheels are strong as heck, set up for comfort.

www.superclydesdale.com

I have a Specialized Sirrus that I ride in the warmer months but have never done in major mileage with at most 15 -20 miles at a time. I have been thinking about maybe trying to a century ride this summer. I live in Missouri and there is an old railroad track converted into a recreational trail that runs the width of the state. As for in the gym I have a hard time staying on any one piece of cardio equipment any longer than 30 mins.

What exactly is your diet? The right food selection can make gains much easier.

And congrats on battling your drinking problem.

To simply put it my diet is not as clean as I would like. I need to get more organized about my meal planning. For the last several days my calories have come primarily from protein and fat. Yesterday’s meals looked like this:

Breakfast:
16 oz glass of 2% Milk
Cliff Bar
Total Calories - 484

Lunch:
Homemade Nachos
Total approx Calories - 962

Dinner:
2 Hebrew National Hotdogs/ only 1 bun
1.5 cups of Carrots
A few Chips
Ranch Sour Cream Dip
Total Approximate Calories - 849

At this point I have been relying on others for food options and I have to get more active in deciding what my meals will look like if I am going to get to my goal.

Gym Time:
20 Mins on Stationary Bike
Intervals

Incline DB
65lb DB’s x 6
70lb DB’s x 6
75lb DB’s 3 x 6

Hammer Strength Wide Grip Bench
180lbs 3 x 8

Decline DB Bench
55lb DB’s 3 x 6
65lb DB’s x 6

JM Press
80lb 3 x 8

Tricep Ext
60lbs 3 x 8

Lateral Raises
25lbs 3 x 8

Rear Fly’s
35lbs 2 x 25
25lbs x 15

12 min Treadmill
4 mph @ 6% incline

Tonight’s workout - Back

30 mins of run / walk intervals on treadmill
walk 4 mph @ 5% incline
run 6.2 mph @ 5% incline

DB’s Rows
65lb x 8
70lb x 8
75lb x 8

Bent over Rows on Smith Machine
190lbs 3 x 8

Hammer Strength Iso Rows
80lb 3 x 8

Lat Pull Downs
120 2 x 8
130 x 8
140 x 6
160 x 6

That’s some pretty amazing progress you’ve made. Well done.

x2 on the biking being easier on the knees than running. Rowing’s kinder too.

Welcome aboard.