Gotta choose

Yeah, I don’t think powerlifting and 5k time trials are going to go so well together. Just could not make my legs move today after yesterday’s heavy squat/deadlift session: 28:15.

I think I should choose one goal at a time, or work on one at a time anyway.

Squat Press Lift

Straight up squats, overhead press and deadlift day. If I were doing Stronglifts, this would be workout B. I can see how it might begin to be impractical to do all three on one day. Well, maybe overhead press and squats or overhead press and deadlifts, but squats and deadlifts within an hour is starting to get VERY tiring. Throw in 5k runs 3 times a week and I think I would be headed toward overtraining at this pace.

Fortunately, I’m leaving for Hawaii in a week (!), so some temporary intense training won’t hurt, in my opinion. Today was good. New PR’s on all 3:

• Barbell Squat:
  • 135 lb x 5 reps
  • 175 lb x 5 reps
  • 195 lb x 5 reps
  • 175 lb x 7 reps
  • 155 lb x 9 reps
  • 135 lb x 11 reps

• Overhead Press
  • 45 lb x 10 reps
  • 65 lb x 8 reps
  • 100 lb x 5 reps
  • 85 lb x 7 reps
  • 65 lb x 7 reps (couldn’t get the last 2 out)
  • 45 lb x 11 reps

• Barbell Deadlift:
  • 135 lb x 5 reps
  • 225 lb x 3 reps
  • 275 lb x 1 reps
  • 185 lb x 8 reps

Still on track to meet my end-of-year goals:

Starting to plateau?

Well, I guess I knew it couldn’t last forever, but my 5k progress stalled out today. I took a HUGE 2 seconds off my Thursday time… 27:16. I started at 6.9, moved up to 7.1 after mile 1 and attempted to go up again at mile 2, but after a quarter mile I was done. I jogged for about half a mile, then went back up to pace. It’s rather encouraging actually, because I was on pace to go below 26. I may get there on Thursday…

Bench and Rows

So the idea here was to first focus on big, compound barbell movements first (flat bench press and bentover rows), then do assistance exercises after:

• Barbell Bench Press:
  • 95 lb x 5 reps
  • 115 lb x 5 reps
  • 175 lb x 1 reps
  • 165 lb x 3 reps
  • 155 lb x 5 reps
  • 135 lb x 7 reps
  • 115 lb x 9 reps
  • 95 lb x 8 reps
• Bent Over Barbell Row:
  • 65 lb x 5 reps
  • 95 lb x 5 reps
  • 135 lb x 5 reps
  • 125 lb x 7 reps
  • 115 lb x 9 reps
  • 95 lb x 11 reps
• Pull-Up:
  • 5 reps || weighted || 15 lb
  • 5 reps || weighted || 25 lb
  • 5 reps || weighted || 20 lb
  • 5 reps || weighted || 15 lb
• Kipping Pull-Up:
  • 10 reps
• Dumbbell Flyes:
  • 25 lb x 12 reps
  • 25 lb x 10 reps
  • 25 lb x 8 reps

I tried to go extra heavy on bench, starting with 175 lbs, but I could only get it up one time. I think I’ll assume that I’m advancing slower on that one. It was a good workout. I’m spent!

Neighborhood 5k around Mount Rubidoux

 

Took a warmup walk for about a half mile, then proceeded around Mount Rubidoux, down through the back trail to Fairmount Park. Then took a quarter mile cool down walk. My thighs and back were a bit sore from my power lifting on Friday, but I fought through it. I think my 5k time was somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 minutes or so, probably a bit less.

My weekend runs always throw me a bit. I’m limited to the gym during the work week, so the majority of my runs are on the treadmill.

Everything about that is so clinical. You know your exact speed and distance at all times. You can predict within seconds what your time will be. I guess I should invest in a cheap digital watch with a stopwatch. I can use Google maps to get a pretty good idea on distance. I may not know stats while I’m running, but at least I’ll know after the fact. I know there are fancy GPS watches out there, but they’re pretty expensive.

And there’s the pavement vs. the shock absorbing treadmill track to consider as well. I need my joints to adjust to the much less forgiving pavement. Fortunately, the end result is similar: a nice reward of endorphins and a general sense of well being.

My resting heart rate has come down from 80 a couple of months ago to around 55 now. I’m glad I’ve returned to what I enjoy. That is, a focus on health and fitness in general, running, getting stronger, etc.

Rest Day

Today’s Lifting Results

Everything went pretty much as planned. I did 5 lbs more on overhead press than I planned. However, I also failed to complete the highest rep set for that lift (broke into 2 sets and needed to go lighter)

• Barbell Squat:
  • 135 lb x 5 reps
  • 155 lb x 5 reps
  • 185 lb x 5 reps
  • 165 lb x 7 reps
  • 145 lb x 9 reps
  • 135 lb x 11 reps
• Overhead Press:
  • 45 lb x 5 reps
  • 65 lb x 5 reps
  • 95 lb x 5 reps
  • 85 lb x 7 reps
  • 75 lb x 9 reps
  • 65 lb x 6 reps
  • 45 lb x 5 reps
• Barbell Deadlift:
  • 135 lb x 5 reps
  • 185 lb x 3 reps
  • 255 lb x 1 reps
  • 205 lb x 3 reps
  • 185 lb x 5 reps
  • 155 lb x 9 reps
  • 135 lb x 11 reps

Visualizations of my current progress vs. my goals for the end of the year

Current Status

I guess I should document where I am right now:

• Weight: 136 lbs (lightest I’ve been in a long time)
• Body fat: 8.99% (calipers) to 12% (omron bf monitor)
• Goals: 25 minute 5k, 7 minute mile, 10% BF (on omron)
• Diet: 1610 calories/day – 40% carb, 30% protein, 30% fat
• Workout routine: crossfit, running
• 5k: 28m 12s
• Mile: 8m 30s

I generally work out M-F and try to do active things on the weekend (hiking, climbing, running). I do crossfit (or some kind of HIT circuit) on MWF, 5k on Tuesday and speed running on Thursdays. Well, “speed” is probably a misnomer. I’m trying to improve my mile times, so I’m not exactly sprinting, but it’s definitely a higher intensity than my 5k days.

I’d like to start training for power actually. I’m pretty weak compared to my workout buddies and it’s not like they’re huge guys. I’m not sure I’m going to get much stronger just doing WOD’s.

Oh, there are 2 events in the fairly distant future that I’m training for. The first is Tough Mudder, coming up at the end of May. It’s basically an intense 10 mile obstacle course up and down a mountain, including running through fire and electrical wires. It looks really fun, but I’m just hoping I can finish :). Crossfit seems to be a good way to train for this one. The second event is the Mission Inn Run 5k in November. I’ll just keep trying to better my 5k time for that.

In terms of my diet, I’m essentially on 1600 calories Monday through Saturday and I “refeed” on Sunday to jumpstart the metabolism back up.

Daily Summary – 5/18/2010

• weight: 146.5 lbs
• body fat: ?
• phase: clean bulking
• workout: lower body

I went ahead with lower weight/higher volume today and I felt much better. I felt balanced and confident in my lifts. I still got a decent workout as well.

I have less than 10 days left on my bulk, and while I’m fairly certain I’m not going to make my goal of 150 lbs., I’m pleased with my results. I gained 5 lbs without increasing my body fat %.  That of course, doesn’t mean I didn’t gain fat, but my percentage stayed the same. So while I was 141 lbs at 15%  body fat (120lbs lean/21 lbs fat), now I’m at 146 lbs at 15% body fat (124 lbs lean/22 lbs fat). In short, I gained 4 lbs of muscle/water and 1 lb of fat. This is all assuming that my body fat monitor is accurate, of course.

Daily Summary – 5/5/2010

• weight: 143.5lbs
• body fat: 15.6%
• phase: clean bulking
• workout: upper body

Yes, I made the plunge and switched to a upper/lower full body split. I honestly would have expected to be more tired, but I’m actually less so.  I also did 10 minutes of HIIT after lifting. I wonder if that has anything to do with my energy level?  I’m going to try to work in some cardio every workout. I know this will make bulking take longer, but I need to keep my heart healthy and fat in check.  As a result, I probably won’t gain as much for my 5/27 bulking deadline, but I probably won’t have to cut nearly as long either. I’m also going to keep my workout days to 3 (MWF).

Bench was lackluster (135×8, 135×8, 135×8, 135×7). I think I can probably do 3 sets of 9. Will try that next time.

Rows were okay. I tried to start out with 115, but I feel like my form was lacking, so I bumped down to 95.

I had a goal of 3 sets of 8 for military, but that turned out to be a little conservative. I think I can up this to 3 sets of 10.

I also did curls and french presses.