Trimming the Beard

Blogging for the trimming of my beard and body. This will be an account of my lifting and dieting through the aid of Dick Talens brilliance. He is helping me get to the last step of my weight loss adventure and into a more fit body to finally start the real journey of maintaining it for the rest of my life. So in the words of the famous Mario (Bros) "Here we go!"

[trimmingthebeard-blog]

Front Barbell Squats suck

To be honest. I hate the routine that I have follow today. I can't stand Front Squats. I feel insignificant when doing them and they hurt like a mofo. I wasn't able to complete my Widowmaker because my wrists just hurt. They hurt bad. They felt like they were going to break off. At such a low weight nonetheless. 

The Hammer curls (both versions) are alright, but I feel like there is nothing to them. I still don't know how I feel about curls altogether. The only thing that I felt good about was the Romanian Deadlifts. I could FEEL the work happening in my legs and lower back. It felt good at pushing myself. 

Sad is as sad does. Take a gander at the logs if you want down thur.

BeardedFitness earned 480 points for:

Cross Body Hammer Dumbbell Curl:

25 lbs x 8 (+6 pts)

35 lbs x 4 (+7 pts)

45 lbs x 16 (+13 pts)

Set 3 is DC style. Reps went up from 6/4/3 to 7/5/4.

Front Barbell Squat:

85 lbs x 8 (+32 pts)

125 lbs x 5 (+43 pts)

165 lbs x 4 (+56 pts)

135 lbs x 14 (+59 pts)

135 lbs x 6 (+48 pts)

Set 3 was meant to be @175lbs. Set 4 was a miss on Widowmaker, wrists have been hurting a lot. Either tendinitis or the beginning of carporal tunnel. Yay. Finished 6 about 30 secs later.

Hammer Dumbbell Curl:

15 lbs x 8 (+5 pts)

25 lbs x 4 (+5 pts)

35 lbs x 14 (+10 pts)

Set 3 is DC style. Weight went up, no prev reps. Reps are 6/4/4.

Romanian Deadlift:

125 lbs x 8 (+49 pts)

145 lbs x 5 (+53 pts)

200 lbs x 15 (+94 pts)

Set 3 is DC style. Weight went up so no prev reps. Reps are 7/4/4. Back started hurting toward the end, a bit more arch then desired...

I've been spending a lot of time with the kids and wife lately and we have been enjoying watching shows and just hanging out. On Monday we got to watch the new season of Hell's Kitchen start up. A crap ton of stupid people up in that kitchen now. 

Soon, it would be nice to go and watch Captain America. That would be the bomb diggity and stuff. 

Going beyond that, I am just going through the motions at work until I can get home and enjoy the company at home.

So bleh.

[trimmingthebeard-blog]

Today's workout, hur-not so impressive

Ah, so, back to game plan. Today was somewhat of an uneventful workout. Not much in the PR area and even a drop in reps for the Skullcrusher. Yesteday (Sunday) I went to the park with the kids and we played pretty hard for a couple of hours. A lot of climbing and monkey bar work along with running/chasing each other. I contribute that to the slight lull in PRs for today. Meh, I still pushed all that I could, and ultimately, that is what is called for. The upright barbell row is an interesting exercise. Once I get about 3/4 of the way up, my armpit starts to feel like it's being pulled. On the heavier weight, I almost have to "shrug" it up to chin level to complete the ROM.

Just git r done. 

The deadlifts today were awesome/painful. As I said in my workout logs from Fitocracy, I felt like I was having better form, and pulling the correct way. This caused my legs to feel like string beans there after and I was glad I didn't have any other leg exercises post DL. Speaking of logs, thur you go.

BeardedFitness earned 906 points for:

Barbell Incline Bench Press:

115 lbs x 8 (+47 pts)

145 lbs x 4 (+53 pts)

165 lbs x 14 (+78 pts)

Set 3 is DC style. Reps stayed the same. Reps are 7/4/3 from 7/5/2. I failed at 8 reps on first DC set. :(!

Upright Barbell Row:

35 lbs x 8 (+8 pts)

55 lbs x 5 (+12 pts)

85 lbs x 16 (+26 pts)

Set 3 is DC style. Reps are 7/5/4. New weight. Felt okay. Need to work on shoulder strength, felt uncomfortable there.

Barbell Deadlift:

200 lbs x 8 (+75 pts)

225 lbs x 4 (+76 pts)

285 lbs x 7 (+105 pts)

265 lbs x 8 (+100 pts)

Workset (285) went down by 1 rep. I felt like I kept more control of the BB and had better form. My legs are now rubbery.

Pull-Up:

8.0 reps || weighted || 1.0 lb (+57 pts)

4.0 reps || weighted || 1.0 lb (+23 pts)

16.0 reps || weighted || 25.0 lb (+223 pts)

Set 3 is DC style. Reps went up. 7/4/3 to 8/5/3.

Lying Barbell Triceps Extension ("Skullcrusher"):

35 lbs x 8 (+5 pts)

65 lbs x 4 (+7 pts)

85 lbs x 12 (+11 pts)

Set 3 is DC style. Reps went down from 8/5/4 to 7/3/2. I think my grip work was stalled because of playing hard at the playground yesterday.

So this weekend, miraculously, there was a 2 year old's birthday party. The best part, the kid is Filipino. The day of the carbs is what I am calling it. I also let loose a little and had a glass of wine with the wife at the end of the day. It's been a while, and that was all that I needed to feel it hit me. Blackstone is good like that.

Then on Sunday, we went to the local Farmer's Market and spent ~$25 and got enough fresh veggies for the week for all 5 of us. (If you haven't fed 2 adults  and 3 < 5 year old boys before, let me explain something real quick, that's cheap. kthxbai)

Beyond that, I have just been enjoying the family's company and taking extra time after my wife's surgery to make sure she is feeling better. So, my bad for not posting for a couple of days. Now stop being selfish. Go get you some other knowledge.

[trimmingthebeard-blog]

Woa, like, woa

So... yeah. Been getting behind on my posts toward the workouts. Spending some time with the wife and kids. Here are the workouts for last Wednesday and Friday. Not much to say, just trying to keep these things a rolling. Just going to leave it at the backlogs for now, and start posting more tomorrow as usual.

July 13th workout.

BeardedFitness earned 741 points for:

Barbell Bench Press:

85 lbs x 8 (+32 pts)

125 lbs x 5 (+43 pts)

180 lbs x 18 (+86 pts)

Set 3 is DC style. Added 10lbs to weight. Don't think I did too shabby. only 2 away from 20 reps. Reps are 8/6/4.

Standing Military Press:

45 lbs x 8 (+19 pts)

85 lbs x 23 (+52 pts)

Set 2 is DC style. Surprisingly the bar went up with barely any strain. Reps are 11/7/5. Might add some weight next cycle.

T-Bar Row:

65 lbs x 8 (+18 pts)

110 lbs x 5 (+28 pts)

145 lbs x 21 (+55 pts)

Set 3 is DC style. Reps went up from 7/6/5 to 8/7/6. Went above 20 reps, but going to keep the weight the same for now.

Chin-Up:

8.0 reps || weighted || 1.0 lb (+51 pts)

5.0 reps || weighted || 1.0 lb (+27 pts)

16.0 reps || weighted || 20.0 lb (+181 pts)

Set 3 is DC style. total reps went down by 3 :(. 20 lbs felt like 40 this time around. Reps are 10/5/4 to 8/4/4.

Close-Grip Barbell Bench Press:

85 lbs x 8 (+33 pts)

125 lbs x 5 (+45 pts)

155 lbs x 14 (+71 pts)

Set 3 is DC style. Reps went up from 6/3/2 to 7/4/3.

July 15th workout.

BeardedFitness earned 499 points for:

Barbell Curl:

20 lbs x 8 (+5 pts)

55 lbs x 23 (+14 pts)

Set 2 is DC style. Reps are 10/7/6.

Reverse Barbell Curl:

20 lbs x 8 (+5 pts)

55 lbs x 17 (+12 pts)

Set 2 is DC style. Reps are 7/5/5.

Barbell Squat:

135 lbs x 8 (+51 pts)

155 lbs x 4 (+52 pts)

215 lbs x 5 (+75 pts)

185 lbs x 20 (+92 pts)

Set 1 felt so easy, even dropping low. Same with Set 2. Set 3 was a little rough going so low, but got all up, with sloppiness. Raised wait for Widowmaker, I could definitely feel it.

Stiff-Legged Barbell Deadlift:

125 lbs x 10 (+49 pts)

155 lbs x 5 (+54 pts)

215 lbs x 12 (+90 pts)

Set 3 is DC style. Raised weight to 215, and it hurt after the widowmaker. Reps are 5/4/3.

[trimmingthebeard-blog]

Hack Squats hizzah

Today was just a normal day besides one small fact. I stopped eating on a 8/16 hour Intermittent Fasting split. I decided that this is the best for me and my family because at any point in time, I would like to eat WITH them. Dick assures me that getting ripped does not necessity IF. 

Beyond that. I did not have too much of an exciting workout this morning. I like today's routine because it is relatively light with a nice heavy volume set in the middle. Hack Squats have become enjoyable now and putting it in the middle of the workout allows for mental preparation to bust out those reps. Doing lunges afterward is killer though. I switched from doing a barbell on my back to dumbbells to the side. This felt more safe and it actually worked to be a type of shrug/grip strength training on top. Woohoo. Wednesday will be the first day of the next cycle and a new cycle to make more gains! 

July 11, 2011

Alternate Incline Dumbbell Curl:

20 lbs x 5 (+5 pts)

30 lbs x 18 (+9 pts)

Alternate Hammer Dumbbell Curl:

20 lbs x 5 (+5 pts)

30 lbs x 18 (+9 pts)

Hack Squat:

195 lbs x 8 (+37 pts)

225 lbs x 6 (+40 pts)

245 lbs x 7 (+45 pts)

265 lbs x 4 (+45 pts)

205 lbs x 20 (+51 pts)

Dumbbell Lunges:

25 lbs x 8 (+11 pts)

35 lbs x 5 (+14 pts)

45 lbs x 15 (+24 pts)

Back to cheat day. Damn I am a fat boy. I confessed to Dick that I overate on all the wrong stuff. A candy bar, some cheese, peanut butter, and anything that you shouldn't eat while on a cut. This week is time to gain my ground back so I will be pushing my self and my diet as far as I can go. On top o this, Dick has changed my nutrition plan so this will be very interesting how things go. 

I don't want anyone to think that IF is bad or anything since I am going to a "normal" schedule of eating. It is just that living the family life, grabbing something to eat on the fly (while mitigating the unhealthy stuff, of course) and not having to spend too much time worrying about meal timing or the like is ideal for me. The 8/16 split is awesome if you enjoy planning your meals or time management. Not only that, but it's quite enjoyable because you almost never feel hungry. 

Speaking of hunger, I found out today that going back to smaller meals definitely makes me have those hunger pains all over again. I know this is just my body getting used to the change in meal timing, but seriously, wtf stomach. Bleh.

Anyways, off to do something else. 

Deuces! 

[midnightjellys]

Reblog if you're a fitness blog and you're in your twenties!

[trimmingthebeard-blog]

Get yo fitness on!

[trimmingthebeard-blog]

Working out 'n stuff

Got up. Drank some espresso, downed a glass of whey formula and waited to get started this morning. Good pre game... game. Not much to say about this workout other than the shoulder press was painful. A bit of cheating for ROM, but otherwise, still worked that mo fo hard. The Rack Deadlift felt good during the working set until about rep 7. Then my grip started giving out and even switching to mixed grip felt bad. (I hate mixed grip as my body wants to naturally turn) 

The chin-ups went down, but I am not worried that much about it as I always recover the following week on them. The tricep extensions though, those I need to work on. I really wish I had a good set of dumbbells or at least something feasible to have it work properly. As of right now, I am having to grab 3 x 10 lb weight plates through their hand holds and use that. (The dumbbell I have feels very awkward and the weight slips down/off. 

I am not sure if some of the non progression was due to working out two days in a row or not. That's alright. I get a cheat day tomorrow and Monday is the last day of this cycle and the day I go back to work. I like being on a routine, and doing so while going to work is always helpful, for me. Looking forward to it. Below is the logs from my workout this morning.

BeardedFitness earned 605 points for:

Decline Barbell Bench Press:

125 lbs x 8 (+43 pts)

145 lbs x 5 (+46 pts)

175 lbs x 29 (+94 pts)

Set 3 is DC style. Reps are 12/9/8 to 13/9/7. Last set was weird, i felt really off balance and had to stop mid set to readjust. Possibly why reps went down.

Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press:

25 lbs x 8 (+13 pts)

25 lbs x 8 (+13 pts)

50 lbs x 17 (+32 pts)

Set 3 is DC style. Raised weight from 45 to 50lbs. Nothing more to say other than it hurt.

Rack Deadlift:

245 lbs x 10 (+65 pts)

300 lbs x 8 (+76 pts)

285 lbs x 5 (+66 pts)

Set 2 is work set, and I had to switch to mixed grip by rep 6 or so. Possibly grip fatigue from workout yesterday and then today. Set 3 was exhausting, probably didn't give myself enough rest in between.

Chin-Up:

8.0 reps || 1.0 lb (+15 pts)

5.0 reps || 1.0 lb (+8 pts)

17.0 reps || weighted || 60.0 lb (+115 pts)

ooo, Chin-ups got an overhaul! Set 3 is Rack Weighted Chin-ups. Reps went down by 1, before was 7/6/5 to 8/5/4.

Dumbbell 1-Arm Triceps Extension:

20 lbs x 8 (+5 pts)

25 lbs x 5 (+5 pts)

30 lbs x 15 (+9 pts)

Set 3 is DC style. Reps went down from 7/6/5 to 8/4/3. On set 2 of DC, my arm just gave out, couldn't raise it an inch from deepest spot. Same on Set 3 of DC.

I will say that my life at home was brought to a halt, for a majority of the day at least, by Torchlight. That game is too addictive. The other part was the fact that it rained all day and the kids enjoyed playing outside in the rain. (Fond memories are rushing back to me now) 

Tonight I watched the movie Pandorum with my wife. I enjoyed the movie, even though some things just didn't make sense. You could tell what the writers were attempting to do for the plot twist(s) so it wasn't shocking when said/thought things happened. I am not a critic, but if I were to give it a score, I would give it a solid 7.5/10. Something to definitely watch on Netflix one night, with nothing else to do.

Beyond these things, I am tired and ready for bed.

Good night.

[trimmingthebeard-blog]

Huffa puff, but damn worth it.

[trimmingthebeard-blog]

Wichya wichao

The title. Because I can.

Today was the Front Barbell Squat day of shame (until today!). I was able to make the widowmaker and pull out of fear of this exercise. Though, I still don't like it. The rest of the workout was the same ol' same ol'. Me going for every rep possible on the worksets and just warming up on the rest. The Romanian Deadlifts surprised me, to be honest. 

I started getting scared for me feet though, during the Pinwheel curls. The dumbbells that I am using are not the greatest in the world. One side of plates would start slipping when I curled up, to the point of hanging on by the cuff. Literally. Same thing happened during the Hammer curls. SOB.

Not much I can do for it right now though. Other things take priority over gym equipment for me. But I will say, that I am still happier in my own at home gym than paying monthly for some other gym. (Godsend!)

BeardedFitness earned 454 points for:

Cross Body Hammer Dumbbell Curl:

25 lbs x 8 (+6 pts)

35 lbs x 4 (+7 pts)

45 lbs x 13 (+12 pts)

Set 3 is DC style. Reps went up from 4/3/2 to 6/4/3.

Front Barbell Squat:

85 lbs x 8 (+32 pts)

125 lbs x 5 (+43 pts)

175 lbs x 3 (+57 pts)

125 lbs x 20 (+62 pts)

Finally F'ing did it. Front Barbell Squat Widowmaker. Felt good. A little sloppy towards the end for form, but still good.

Alternate Hammer Dumbbell Curl:

15 lbs x 8 (+5 pts)

25 lbs x 4 (+5 pts)

30 lbs x 21 (+10 pts)

Set 3 is DC style. Reps went up from 7/6/5 to 9/7/5.

Romanian Deadlift:

125 lbs x 8 (+49 pts)

145 lbs x 7 (+56 pts)

185 lbs x 27 (+110 pts)

Set 3 is DC style. Reps went up from 7/6/5 to 11/8/8. Surprised myself with the reps on this. Going to go 15 lbs heavier next time.

Today was an unusual day. Much like this week, actually.

My wife is getting better after the antibiotic treatment, and because of this, we went out to eat. At Golden Coral.

The first part of me was nothing but grins. The second part of me said "Awww shit, what are we going to do now!" 

I say this because it is the first "practical" application of dieting during the training week outside of my "controlled" environment. I rushed an email and ping to Dick, who wasn't there (before we started eating, but responded during). I had already had my Post Workout Meal and was over 60% of my macros for the day. Now I was at Golden Coral and trying to take on what was good for me versus what looked/smelled/tasted good.

In the end, I went over my carb intake by about 40-50 grams (which honestly isn't horrendous since it was all veggies and complex carbs) and fat by about 10 grams (which is not so nice, but acceptable).

So, all in all, it was a good day. My wife feeling better, breaking my issues with the Front Barbell Squat, still getting PRs, getting to eat some good food, and I get to do it all over again tomorrow.

Damn it feels good to be fit.

[trimmingthebeard-blog]

Missed a workout today

Today I was supposed to workout. Did not happen. First, it was because I ended up sleeping in way too late (7 AM). Then it was because the kids got up and I needed to start making their breakfast. Then I got a call from my wife (who was in the hospital after some fainting spells and a fever). She was discharged and I needed to go and pick her up.

This left no time until at least 4 hours later to workout with, WITHOUT eating. That would have been minimum of 20 hours fasted before working out. Then I also have my nemesis the Front Barbell Squat too. I couldn't get in touch with Dick so I made the choice to make today another rest day and eat that way. Thursday and Friday would both bet workout days. 

Will be pushing it hard tomorrow to get my Widowmaker and high reps on the pinwheel and hammer curls. Need to make more improvement with those. Until then, Ciao.

[talenstraining-deactivated20130]

[trimmingthebeard-blog]

talenstraining:

Recent portfolio of all 16-20 week transformations I’ve been involved with (me and all my trainees).  I’m about to add 3 more in the next 16 weeks.  :)

[trimmingthebeard-blog]

July 4th Working it

Posting this a bit late as the fireworks had me up with the boys until 10 and I was exhausted by the end of the day. Nothing really special about this workout. Added some weight to the Bench Press by mistake, and added some reps to a few exercises. Pull-ups didn't budge an inch this time. Meh.

BeardedFitness earned 706 points for:

Barbell Incline Bench Press:

115 lbs x 8 (+47 pts)

145 lbs x 4 (+53 pts)

165 lbs x 14 (+78 pts)

Set 3 is DC style. I meant to put 160lb on bb, didn't realize it was 5 lbs heavier until after first set. Reps were 7/5/2.

Upright Barbell Row:

35 lbs x 8 (+8 pts)

55 lbs x 5 (+12 pts)

75 lbs x 28 (+29 pts)

Set 3 is DC style. Reps went up from 10/8/6 to 12/8/8. Last set of DC I hit 7, then took a 5 sec and got 8.

Barbell Deadlift:

200 lbs x 11 (+81 pts)

225 lbs x 4 (+76 pts)

285 lbs x 8 (+108 pts)

265 lbs x 8 (+100 pts)

Set 1... I got in the zone and didn't stop until I realized I had done too many. Dropped 1 rep from set 2 to compensate, somewhat. Reps went up on work set from 6 to 8. Set 4 reps went up from 7 to 8.

Pull-Up:

8 (+18 pts)

4 (+9 pts)

Warm up sets for weighted pull-ups.

Weighted Pull-Up:

25 lbs x 14 (+62 pts)

DC style. No gains or losses. Reps stayed the same.

Lying Barbell Triceps Extension ("Skullcrusher"):

35 lbs x 8 (+5 pts)

65 lbs x 4 (+7 pts)

85 lbs x 17 (+13 pts)

Set 3 is DC style. Reps went up from 7/4/3 to 8/5/4. I will say, that I was not able to keep an angle through progression, I had to go vertical at some points.

Awesome little tid bit today. Our phones got shut off because of late payment. Ugh, I hate having so little money. Meh, they will be turned back on by Friday. It's just they did it on the 4th of July. Sneriously?

Also, I switched to adding some Splenda and cinnamon to my coffee. Tasted scrum-diddily-dumptious. 

We couldn't go out the Baseball game like we normally do for the 4th, but our neighbors did put on a good show for us. Until the cops showed up saying there was a fireworks ban. WTF? Yay to independence! Now stop celebrating!

Well, not much else to talk about right now. Deuces until tomorrow!

[trimmingthebeard-blog]

Getting some Widowmakers, almost. take 2

  SOB brain decided to count 20 when I did 19 on the Squats. I jumped back under the bar and did 2 more reps with a pause at the end to make up for it. The bicep curls went way up… Now I need to change the weight to get some real shnitz going. I did get a good pump though. The Reverse Barbell Curls are rough on me. My fingers want to give out after 3-4 reps each time. Getting rid of gloves helped, but it’s still a mind game to keep a hold on the bar.

The SLDL were rough. My reps jumped from 14 to 19, but it hurt. In the good kind of way. I am looking forward to Monday’s workout. Incline Bench Press AND Deadlift. (no sarcasm) Good times ahead. Plus, weighted Pull-ups. I love my Pull-ups. 

Logs for today 7/1/2011.

  BeardedFitness earned 553 points for:

Barbell Curl:

45 lbs x 18 (+10 pts)Personal Record!

45 lbs x 14 (+9 pts)

45 lbs x 11 (+9 pts)

Cannot log as 1 set. These are RP sets for DC routine. Squeezed out as many reps as I could for each. Now arms have some serious pump action. (Not Jersey Shore kind of pump...)

Reverse Barbell Curl:

45 lbs x 25 (+12 pts)

DC style with RP in between. Reps are 10/8/7. Apparently reps went down 3 from last time. Possibly due to the increase in BB curl.

Barbell Squat:

135 lbs x 8 (+51 pts)

155 lbs x 4 (+52 pts)

205 lbs x 4 (+69 pts)

175 lbs x 19 (+85 pts)

175 lbs x 2 (+55 pts)

Dropped weight on Set 3 due to failures past 2 tries. Weight seemed heavier than expected. Set 4 was Widowmaker. Miscounted by 1 so I did another set after with 2 reps, pause at bottom.

Stiff-Legged Barbell Deadlift:

125 lbs x 10 (+49 pts)

155 lbs x 5 (+54 pts)

200 lbs x 19 (+98 pts)Personal Record!

Set 3 is DC style. Total reps went up from 14 to 19. Reps are 8/7/4.

For post workout meal I just had some oatmeal with milk, added some nuked raspberries, and protein shake mix. Not the best decision, but it hit everything that it needed to. The rest of the day was whole veggies and a big fat chicken titty. With homemade ranch(esk) dressing. Hit all dah macros and tomorrow is cheat day.  

The wife is feeling better as of today, but she is still having post surgery pains. The recovery is slow and she is mostly bed ridden. This, however, was the plan from the beginning. At least she is reading a crap ton of books from Charlene Harris (not Sookie Stackhouse, she already read all of those). 

Me, on the other hand, I have been looking through the Steam Summer Sales and finding some nice deals. Also, slowly reading through Halo Evolutions until A Dance with Dragons is released on the 12th. Beat Portal 1 again, found out, the cake is not a lie… (again) mwhahaha. 

I don’t have much else to say, so adios.

[trimmingthebeard-blog]

Way late posting, posting late way!

This was the workout from 6/29/2011... Forgot to post this. This is the beginning of Cycle 3 on Doggcrapp. Nothing really exciting. Small PR on Bench Press, pretty big PR on RACK Chin-ups. The rest was about the same. My Close Grip Bench Press went down, from what I figure, because of grip. I am nearly 100% certain that it was about 2 inches more narrow compared to what it was last cycle. Not much else to say from this so I will leave it with the logs.

BeardedFitness earned 502 points for:

Barbell Bench Press:

85 lbs x 8 (+32 pts)

125 lbs x 5 (+43 pts)

170 lbs x 23 (+90 pts)

Set 3 is DC style. Not certain about reps but total went up from 21 to 23. Reps are 11/7/5.

Machine Shoulder (Military) Press:

45 lbs x 8 (+10 pts)

75 lbs x 26 (+25 pts)

Set 2 is DC style. Not certain about prev reps. Total went down 1 rep from 27 to 26. Reps are 13/8/5

T-Bar Row:

65 lbs x 8 (+18 pts)

110 lbs x 5 (+28 pts)

145 lbs x 18 (+52 pts)

Set 3 is DC style. Total reps stayed same. Reps are 7/6/5

Chin-Up:

9 (+13 pts)

4 (+6 pts)

Warm up for Weighted Chin Up.

Weighted Chin-Up:

20 lbs x 20 (+33 pts)

Impressed myself a little here. Reps went up. Total from 14 to 20. Reps this time are 10/5/4.

Close-Grip Barbell Bench Press:

105 lbs x 8 (+41 pts)

125 lbs x 5 (+45 pts)

155 lbs x 11 (+66 pts)

Not certain if my grip was too close (+/-4"). Total reps went down from 15 to 11. Could be fatigue too, was exhausted by this point. Reps were 6/3/2.

Woop, there it is.

Pssshuaaa, laters.

[brianmwang-blog-blog]

6 months into startup life and never looking back

[trimmingthebeard-blog]

brianmwang:

Today marks six months.  Six months since I stopped working for somebody else and started working for myself.  Six months since I threw my fate to that vortex of grind, perspiration, stress, and luck we call startup life.  Six months since I started actually feeling a sense of fulfillment from my work.  Here’s to many, many more.

Congrats! You guys are doing an awesome job!

I still say you need to set up a donate button!

[trimmingthebeard-blog]

Thanks, man. Are you, your boys, and your wife feeling any better?

Somewhat, after their quiet time, they have less mood swings. The wife is slowly getting better. Not at a fast enough rate that she wishes, of course.

[talenstraining-deactivated20130]

[trimmingthebeard-blog]

talenstraining:

Here’s a great paper written by Dr. Stephen Byrnes. I believe that this is pretty old. How old? Well, if you look at the references, not a single study here was done after 2001. It may seem counter-intuitive that I’d want to post about something so old, but

1. This is one of the better “In a...

Awesome article, and I can attest to the awesome that is high protein low(er) carb diet. It works, and I am eating higher numbers of actual calories then I was previously, working out relatively less (volume) and losing the weight still. Good read. :D

[trimmingthebeard-blog]

June 27th Workout

Posting late, but still posting.. Yesterday's workout was fairly productive. My reps went up, but no blue PR flags hitting on Fitocracy because I've done heavier weight. Such big points for this too! Woohoo! :D Again, the Hack Squats were pretty killer, especially the Widowmaker. Wednesday will be the beginning of cycle 3. Amazing how fast it is going by. So are the only things that I would like to change are the Lunges and Front Squats. Besides those two things, I enjoy this workout. I can see how it works well for bulking or recomposition. 

On a side note, I can't believe how much curl work is in this routine. It feels weird after giving up on curls for almost a year. still, if it works, don't diss it.

BeardedFitness earned 224 points for:

Alternate Incline Dumbbell Curl:

20 lbs x 5 (+5 pts)

30 lbs x 15 (+9 pts)

Only 1 warm up set. Set 2 is DC style, reps went up from 4/3/2 to 6/5/4.

Alternate Hammer Dumbbell Curl:

20 lbs x 6 (+5 pts)

30 lbs x 17 (+9 pts)

Only 1 warm up set. Set 2 is DC style. Reps went up from 5/4/3 to 7/5/5. I realized after the 2nd DC set that I could have pushed 1 more rep out on each arm. So I pushed it on 3rd set.

Hack Squat:

195 lbs x 8 (+37 pts)

225 lbs x 5 (+39 pts)

265 lbs x 5 (+46 pts)

185 lbs x 20 (+46 pts)

Set 3 is Heavy working set. I probably could have gone 10lbs heavier but kept to 265. Set 4 is widowmaker. This was not as tough as it was for cycle 1. Still huffa puff by the end, though. Going up another 10lbs next cycle.

Barbell Rear Lunge:

55 lbs x 8 (+6 pts)

80 lbs x 6 (+9 pts)

100 lbs x 11 (+13 pts)

Set 3 is DC style. I dropped the 3rd set of DC after 1 rep due to fatigue. My knees started bowing to complete ROM, which started scaring me. Might actually switch to lunge variation.

After the workout I ate an awesome batch of Protein Pancakes. Topped with melted raspberries. Gave me the idea for a Protein Packed Stuffed French Toast breakfast for my PWO tomorrow. Getting antsy to give that a try.

That brings me to now. Being in Florida with the up and down weather and constant smoke has not done me any good. I am now sick with a head cold and throat soreness. So are my three boys, and my wife is still recovering post surgery. Our house is a wreck (in terms of emotions and productivity). My wife and I seem like mindless zombies while our boys are happy ADHD one second and then crying and throwing fits the next. Plus snot noses and open mouth flem coughing. (TMI, good, because it's too much for me too.)

And... I'm spent. 

Post you tomorrow.