Keith's Journal

[boxcarguy07]

I've also just decided to lower my fruit intake a lot, and eat more leafy greens instead. I might have only one or two bananas on most days, in the morning and have that be it. Not only do I think leafy greens are more nutritious, but I'm noticing that all these fruits added up get pretty expensive. Now I'll have more money for more meat! mmmmmmmmm.


but come to think of it, organic greens are pretty expensive as well.
I'll have to do some comparing and think about it.

[boxcarguy07]

Saturday, July 26

Just got back from the gym. Workout goes as follows:

1. Squats:             165x10                   165x10                  165x8
2. Chin-ups:           Bodyweightx5         -50lbs x 6              -70lbs x 5  (ran outta steam fast on these!)
3. Decline Barbell
   Bench Press:       115x10                  115x10                  115x6
4. Calf Raise:          70x9                     70x10                    95x7
5. Hammer Curls:     30x8                     30x5                     25x5
6. Close-grip Bench: 85x9                     85x8                     85x8
7. Leg Lifts:            10x9                     10x7   


Alright, so Monday is when it gets exciting... when I can see if I've made any strength improvements from the previous week's workout.

[boxcarguy07]

Monday July 28

Well, pretty much every lift went up from last week, especially Leg press (my legs gain muscle and strength much faster than the rest of my body) so that is good news. Hopefully this continues, and with an ample amount of grass-fed fat and protein, I see no reason why it shouldn't!

Numbers in parentheses are from last week, for comparison (only first set)

1. Bench Press:                         125x10 (115x10)         125x7             115x6
2. Leg Press:                             380x9  (340x9)          380x9              380x8
3. Pulldown:                              120x10 (120x9)          120x8             120x5
4. Standing Dumbbell Press:          25x8   (20x12)           25x7               25x6
5. Pushdown:                             130x8  (130x7)          130x5             120x4
6. Preacher Curls                         70x9   (70x8)            70x6               70x2
7. Weighted Crunch:                     20x10 (20x10)          20x8

[boxcarguy07]

Wednesday July 30

Went up in pretty much everything from last week again. Very cool. Numbers in parentheses are from last week.

1. Bent-over row:                     85x11(80x10)             85x9             85x9
2. Incline Dumbbell Press:           35x11(35x10)             35x10           35x7
3. Stiff-leg Deadlift:                  135x11(135x10)          135x10         135x6
4. Barbell Curl:                         60x9(50x11)                60x7            60x5
5. Dips:                                   10(9)                           7                 5
6. Shrugs:                               155x8(145x8)              155x6           155x5
7. Leg Extension:                     260x9(220x7)               260x8           260x7

[Satya]

4. Calf Raise:          70x9                     70x10                    95x7

I take it those were seated calf raises from Saturday?  Gawd I love drumsticks.

[boxcarguy07]

Yep, seated calf raise.
Not quite getting the drumstick reference though. 

Oh.... wait now I get it 

[boxcarguy07]

Friday August 1

Numbers in parentheses are from last week


1. Squat:                                185x10(165x10)                     185x9                        185x6
2. Chin-up:                               -50x8                                  -50x6                        -70x6  (seem to run outta steam quickly on these!)
3. Decline Barbell press:              125x10(115x10)                    125x8                        125x5
4. Seated Calf-raise:                  105x9(70x9)                        105x7                         105x6
5. Hammer Curl:                         30x8(30x8)                         30x6(30x5)                   30x5(25x5)
6. Close-grip bench press:           95x9(85x9)                          95x8                            95x7
7. Weighted Leg-lifts:                  10x10(10x9)                        10x7


Alright, cool. So starting Monday, I'm moving the first three exercises of each workout to four sets of 6-8 reps, instead of 3 sets of 8-10 reps, allowing me to go a little bit heavier. Looking forward to it!

[boxcarguy07]

Monday, August 4

Didn't have as good of a workout as usual... I'm thinking it's because I didn't get the best night of sleep last night because my family was being loud and it kept me up. Ohhhhhhh well, it wasn't a horrible workout! 
Moved the first three exercises up to shooting for 4 sets of 6-8 reps. I keep my rests in between sets pretty short so by the time I hit the fourth set it's hard to hit that rep-range with the same weight that I did the first set with. I imagine it will be even harder in two weeks when I go 5x5.
Nevertheless, I've definitely made strength improvements since I've started, and I can't wait to take pictures in another two weeks because I've definitely gained size as well. When I first started I was around 150-153 lbs, now I'm 167.

1. Bench Press:                        135x7          135x6              135x5               125x6
2. Leg Press:                           430x8           430x8              430x7               430x6
3. Pulldown:                            130x8           130x7              130x6                130x5
4. Standing Dumbbell Press:       25x9             25x7                25x6
5. Pushdown:                          130x9           130x6              130x4
6. Preacher Curls:                    70x9              70x7               70x4
7. Weighted Crunch:                25x10


Hopefully I can get some better sleep tonight and tomorrow night and have an awesome workout on Wednesday!

[rawlion]

Hi Keith

Congratulations on your progress! It is nice to hear/see you are doing well.

I just wanted to ask how much time on average do you spend exercising?

Yuri

[boxcarguy07]

Thanks Yuri!!
I typically spend one hour in the gym. I'm a big believer in "get in and get out"... short but intense workouts.

Wednesday August 06

Had a better workout today than on Monday, as I had more and better sleep (I achieved lucidity in my dream last night!).
I was kind of frustrated because when I do my stiff-legged deadlifts, my grip strength goes out before my leg strength does... but oh well, my grip strength will just have to get stronger!


1. Barbell Row:                       100x8          100x8         100x6           100x6
2. Incline Dumbbell Press:         45x9            45x6           45x5             40x5
3. Stiff-leg Deadlift:                 175x9          175x6         155x6            155x4
4. Barbell Curl:                         60x9           60x8            60x6
5. Dips:                                  10                7                 6
7. Shrugs:                              155x10         155x7           155x6
8. Leg Extension:                     280x10          280x8          280x7

[boxcarguy07]

Saturday August 09

Well, I kind of hurt myself in the gym today. It was on the last set of Decline Bench Presses... a pain shot through the left side of my neck when I lifted the bar off of the rack. After I re-racked the bar and stood up, it hurt a bit when I rotated my head in certain ways. If I was smart and careful, I probably would have called it a day. But sometimes I am neither of those things, so I continued my workout. Thankfully most of the pain had subsided by the end of my workout, and it hurts only a small amount when I rotate my head as I am sitting here typing this.
I think I should start stretching my neck more and hopefully avoid further injury. Other than that it was a fairly good workout.


1. Squat:                        195x8               195x8          195x6                195x6
2. Chin-up:                      -60x8                -60x8          -60x7                -60x4
3. Decline Bench press:      135x8               135x7            135x6              135x4
4. Seated Calf Raise:          115x8              115x7            115x7
5. Hammer Curls:                 30x8              30x7              30x6
6. Close-grip Bench press:    105x8             105x8            105x7
7. Hanging leg lift:               10x10             10x9


As for now, I'm sitting here enjoying some nice beef liver, waiting for my ground beef to get to room temperature from the fridge.
I LOVE MEAT!!!!!!! lol

[Satya]

Keith,

Your pain is a warning.  I would rest and stretch for at least 4 days without doing any chest work or anything that may end you up in a doctor office.  I cannot comment on your form, but since you were lifting from the rack, perhaps having a spotter is a good choice for awhile. 

I can comment on your schedule.  You are doing, correct me if I am wrong, a total body workout every other 1-2 days.  How about  trying to split it up?  I personally have seen the best results in bodybuilders (I have never been that focused on bodybuilding myself, but I am a former personal trainer who spent 20+ years of her life working in gyms & health clubs) is training one body part no more than once a week.  Just do chest on one day.  Do push ups, flyes, incline, flat & decline chest press, cable crossovers.  Just beat the crap outta the pecs (tris and frontal deltoids will get hit a decent amount too).  Next day, do abs.  Then back.  Then shoulders.  Then bis & tris.  Then legs (compound movements mainly).  Then rest. 

If you don't like that, then do chest, tris and abs one day.  Rest.  Back, bis, forearms and delts.  Rest.  Legs. Repeat.

Anyway, best wishes on an injury-free workout.

[boxcarguy07]

Yeah, rest sounds like a good idea  :

As for my schedule, I've done both full-body and split-body routines and find that they both have their place.
I decided to go with a full-body routine this time, while I was first getting back into it, to take full advantage of the "newbie" gains that come with starting a routine after a long period of not workout out.
When I change up my routine in another few weeks it will definitely be a split-body routine.
I like to have at least one day in between my workouts, as from what I've read it takes ~24 hours for the muscles to repair, but ~48 hours for the CNS to fully recover. So I've always done plans like the second one you mentioned, always being sure to hit at least one large muscle group per workout.

So, looks like I'll be resting for a couple days.

Thanks for the advice!

[boxcarguy07]

Oh, and regarding my form, I am sure it was not that. I always make sure to use correct form, lifting in a smooth, controlled manner.
I was on a decline bench, and removing the bar from the rack is more difficult than doing the press itself, because your shoulders are rotated back quite a bit. The pain occurred while lifting the weight up, not while actually performing the lift.

I took a short nap earlier, and woke up in worse pain than when I went to sleep. Grrrrrr.

[Raw Kyle]

Maybe you shouldn't do declines with a rack? I remember feeling very weak taking the bar off of the pegs with incline, almost like it was going to fall down.

[boxcarguy07]

Yeah, maybe you're right. I just want to clarify, when I say rack, I mean the bar holder that the decline bench is attached to. I don't mean a squat rack or anything like that. It's actually really annoying when people use the squat rack to do curls and the like.

But yeah, I was thinking about either switching to doing declines with dumbbells, or asking someone for a spot while removing the bar from now on.

The bass player in the band at church is a chiropractor and I got him to take a look at my neck. He had me lay down on the floor and gave my neck a nice twist, and it feels a lot better and I have more mobility back. Still hurts a bit though.

[boxcarguy07]

Tuesday August 12

Alright, so I decided I've had enough rest and it was time to get back in the gym!
I'm glad I did because I had a GREAT workout this morning. I felt very strong and full of energy. My lifts went up a bit from last week as well.


1. Bench Press:                       135x8(135x7)            135x8(135x6)         135x7(135x5)          135x5(125x6)
2. Leg Press:                           450x8(430x8)            450x8(430x8)         450x8(430x7)          450x6(430x6)
3. Pulldown:                             130x8(130x8)           130x8(130x7)          130x7(130x6)         130x6(130x5)
4. Standing Dumbbell Press:        30x8  (25x9)              30x8 (25x7)              30x4 (25x6)
5. Pushdown:                           130x9 (130x9)           130x8 (130x6)           130x6 (130x4)b
6. Preacher Curls:                     70x9 (70x9)               70x8 (70x7)              70x6  (70x4)
7. Weighted Crunches:              30x10                        30x5

[Satya]

What time do you workout?  I so love morning workouts ... of any kind.

[boxcarguy07]

Well I usually try to workout as early as possible... around 7 am usually. It's also nice because there are less people in the gym than later on.

However, on this parTICular morning, I was a bit slow and didn't make it to the gym until around 11 am.

[boxcarguy07]

Thursday August 14

Feeling great, had a good workout. I decided that I'm going to have to break out my wrist straps for stiff-legged deadlifts because I am just getting frustrated with not being able to hold on to that weight long enough to exhaust my hamstrings! Oh, and I'm finally strong enough to add weight to my dips! Not very much, and not as much as I used to be able to do, but it's still nice to be able to use more than just bodyweight.


1. Bent-over Row:                   110x8               110x8              110x6              110x5
2. Incline Dumbbell Press:         45x8                  45x7                45x7               45x5
3. Stiff-legged Deadlift:            175x8               175x8              175x5             155x6
4. Barbell Curl:                         70x8                70x6                 60x7
5. Weighted Dips:                     20x9                 20x7                20x5
6. Shrugs:                             165x9                 165x7              165x6
7. Leg Extension:                    300x8                 300x8               300x7


In other news, I was hit by a car today while riding my bike. Thankfully the lady was going slow and I didn't sustain any injury other than scratching up my right shin a little bit. I was riding along and I saw her pull up to a perpendicular intersection and she stopped at the stop sign, buuuuuuut I guess she didn't see me or wasn't paying attention because just as I was approaching the intersection she pulled out and bumped right into me!

[Satya]

In other news, I was hit by a car today while riding my bike. Thankfully the lady was going slow and I didn't sustain any injury other than scratching up my right shin a little bit. I was riding along and I saw her pull up to a perpendicular intersection and she stopped at the stop sign, buuuuuuut I guess she didn't see me or wasn't paying attention because just as I was approaching the intersection she pulled out and bumped right into me!

OMG Keith, I am glad you are not injured.  Damn it, wear bright clothes ... or better yet, no clothes, then you are sure to get noticed!  You are SO fortunate to have not ended up in ER (Hospital).  I bet it shook you up some.

Back in the 80s in So Cal, I rode my bike for about 6 months without a car, going to work 8 miles away, and otherwise dealing with Orange County traffic daily.  One Sunday, I rode to a friend's house.  While on a residential street, a door on a car with one of those opaque murals on the back swung open and I hit it with my arm, flew 15' and landed in the street.  The lady driver did NOT look in her side view mirror, as I always looked for signs of danger like that.  I rode in an ambulance and was told my humorus was broken.  It hurt like hell.  But guess what?  It wasn't broken.  I had been pretty active physically and was eating fish, meat, chicken livers (cooked) and salad as staples.  I am disfigured from it in that my tricep has an unnaturally deep cut on that side.  But it swelled so much and the doctors were all amazed that the x-ray showed nothing.  I got some money out of that experience, which was good as my racing bike needed a lot of work!

Anyway, be careful out there and make sure these ladies see you ... whatever it takes. 

[Satya]

PS.  I once got the distinct irritation of being slapped on my ass by some guy travelling at 45 mph on a highway while I rode on my bike at about 30 mph.  I almost lost it into traffic, and it stung.  Between that and some other incidents of sexual abuse (like in college by a physics professor), is it any wonder why I am so anti-sexist?

[boxcarguy07]

OMG Keith, I am glad you are not injured.  Damn it, wear bright clothes ... or better yet, no clothes, then you are sure to get noticed!  You are SO fortunate to have not ended up in ER (Hospital).  I bet it shook you up some.

Back in the 80s in So Cal, I rode my bike for about 6 months without a car, going to work 8 miles away, and otherwise dealing with Orange County traffic daily.  One Sunday, I rode to a friend's house.  While on a residential street, a door on a car with one of those opaque murals on the back swung open and I hit it with my arm, flew 15' and landed in the street.  The lady driver did NOT look in her side view mirror, as I always looked for signs of danger like that.  I rode in an ambulance and was told my humorus was broken.  It hurt like hell.  But guess what?  It wasn't broken.  I had been pretty active physically and was eating fish, meat, chicken livers (cooked) and salad as staples.  I am disfigured from it in that my tricep has an unnaturally deep cut on that side.  But it swelled so much and the doctors were all amazed that the x-ray showed nothing.  I got some money out of that experience, which was good as my racing bike needed a lot of work!

Anyway, be careful out there and make sure these ladies see you ... whatever it takes. 

Thanks for the concern!    I'm glad I was not injured too!
I actually was not wearing a shirt, and I was in bright blue shorts and my bike is bright red. I honestly don't think it mattered WHAT I was wearing, I think the lady was just in lala land.

To tell the truth I wasn't really that shaken up by it. It wasn't that bad. I guess I roll with the punches pretty well... or in this case, the tires!

And jeez louise, your situation sounds just like from a movie or something! I am glad the same fate did not befall me (flying 15' off my bike) and I'm truly glad that you were not disabled!

[boxcarguy07]

Saturday August 16

Well, I just got back a little bit ago from another GREAT workout. My lifts increased on a lot of exercises and I felt full of energy.
I also got someone to give me a spot on those decline presses so that I didn't hurt my neck again!


1. Squat:                             200x8 (195x8)         200x8 (195x8)          200x7 (195x6)        200x6 (195x6)
2. Chin-up (assisted):             -50x8 (-60x8)          -50x8(-60x8)           -50x6 (-60x7)         -60x6 (-60x4)
3. Decline Bench Press:           135x9 (135x8)        150x8 (135x7)          150x7 (135x6)        150x6 (135x4)
4. Seated Calf Raise:              125x7 (115x8)        125x7 (115x7)          125x7 (115x7)
5. Hammer Curl:                     30x9   (30x8)          30x7 (30x7)              30x5 (30x6)
6. Close-grip bench press:       115x8 (105x8)         115x6(105x8)          115x4 (105x7)
7. Weighted leg lifts:               10x11                      10x8

I just ate two nice juicy organic plums. I used to dislike plums as a kid, probably because they weren't sweet enough. But now I love 'em!
Then later on throughout the day I'll be eating my 3 lbs. of beef as usual, as well as some lamb kidney and perhaps some eggs. And I also eat some pickles and some leafy greens as well.

My cravings for non-paleo foods are all but gone. Very sweet things just aren't appetizing anymore. The other day I was in the store, and I thought to myself "Hey, I've been doing great with eating, I'll get myself a Larabar." A Larabar is a raw, all-natural food bar that uses only nuts and dried fruit. They are very sweet though. I used to eat them all the time after I went raw, but before really getting into raw animal foods. So, I got to them, looked at them, and remembered how they tasted. The thought of eating something so sweet (they use dried dates and cherries and such) was actually kind of repulsive. So I passed them up.... and went and ate some meat! Grrr!

I leave my parents' house and go back to school this friday. I can't wait! But now that it's so close, I'm kind of hoping it takes its time to get here! Weird.

I can only imagine how people will respond to my raw meat eating habits. This'll be fun.

[Raw Kyle]

Will you be able to stay on your same diet at school?