# Haynea4f training journal



## haynea4f (Jun 2, 2012)

Hello everyone, I am brand new to this forum. I have been trying to remain consistent with lifting for the past year and a half but could never go for more than a few weeks without quitting for a few months. I am 32 and consider myself nearly new to lifting. Prior to my 30's I saw the inside of a gym only a few times. I suppose I was too busy partying and playing xbox all the time. In late March I decided to get serious and stick with it. I am actually 9 weeks into it now. I started with my body fat too high and it is still obviously too high from the bulk. I noticed my waist getting bigger and I went from a 38.5 inch waist to a 40 inch waist in 8 weeks. Bloating? Abs getting bigger? Fat? Im not sure but it happened. I did gain an inch on my arms a couple inches on my chest. My legs got bigger too.

I ran across this site and seen the beginner thread. Following the workout it recommended. It is as follows with a couple of alterations due to my hamstrings being very tight and lower back problems (Starting physical therapy this wednesday):
Hack squats (until after I can heal my injuries)
Romanian dead lift (until after my hamstrings loosen)
Negative self assisted chins (I can do a couple pull ups, then I will do the negatives for strength)
Standing Military press
 Seated cable rows
Barbell bench press​Weighted ball crunches
(and if I notice fat loss stalling I will add 20 minutes moderate cardio)

All exercises will be done 3 sets 5-8 reps. I will be eating 350-500 calories below maintenance so I hope to keep what muscle and strength I have managed to put on in 9 weeks.

I am 6'3" 215 pounds 19% bf (estimated, calipers on order)
Macros will be: 225 grams protein, 100 grams fat, 175 grams carbs. I use myfitnesspal to track it.

After going from 203 to 216 on a 9 week bulk I realized I fat bulked and now understand my body better. I was bulking at 3500 calories when I should have been bulking at more like 3100. I was impatient. From that I determined my maintenance is around 2800.

I want to do a slow cut to minimize muscle loss, what little I have.

My supplements are:
Musclepharm combat protein
Animal pak (want to switch to orange triad)
green mag for creatine
white blood for preworkout
animal pump for bcaa
fish oil
Lean Xtreme on the way (should I take that at 19% bf?)


My goal is to get to 12% bf maybe lower then slow bulk.

Any advice or criticism would be appreciated.


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## haynea4f (Jun 3, 2012)

Today was my first day of the new routine.

My lifts were:
Hack squats 90x8 110x8 130x8 (not including weight of machine) i could have done more weight, but i just wanted to start low and work up

Romanian deadlift 95x8 145x8 165x6 (these scare me because of my lower back and hamstring issues, physical therapy on wednesday)

Chins/negative chins 3 chins followed by 8 negs, 2 chins with 6 negs, 2 chins followed by 5 negs

Military press 95x8 95x7 95x4

Seated cable row 80x8 90x8 100x8

Barbell bench press 135x8 155x7 155x6

Weighted ball crunch 25x8 25x8 35x8

I need to work on deadlift form big time.

Thats all for today


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## haynea4f (Jun 5, 2012)

Day 2 week 1

The last couple days my lower back has been giving me some real problems. So I decided to cut out deadlifts until I can get to physical therapy and get a better range of motion. I did hyperextensions and lying leg curls instead. Im still sticking with 2500 calories and have been consistent with it for over a week.

Hack squats: Sled weight + 130x8, 130x8, 130x8.........140 next

Hyperextensions: no weight 0x8, 0x8, 0x8

Lying leg curls: 85x8, 85x8, 85x8........90 next

Military press (seated barbell was in use) with dumbbells: 100x6, 90x8, 90x6.........90 next seated barbell

Negative chins: 4 chin ups followed by 6 negatives, 2 chinups followed by 6 negatives, 2 chinups followed by 5 negatives

Seated cable rows: 110x8, 110x8, 110x8............120 next

Barbell bench press: 155x8, 155x6, 155x4............150 next

Weighted ball crunches: 40x8, 40x8, 40x8 (these dont feel like they are doing anything. Going to change to decline weighted crunches next workout.

So this is how it goes. Not totally proud of my workout today but at least I got in there and pushed it. I feel pretty bummed about my back because I know deadlifts will be a major part of my routine if I can ever heal. But right now deadlifts will do more harm than good. It is depressing at times with my back but I am going to fight it off hopefully with physical therapy and determination.

I will also start logging the process of my physical therapy in hope that it may help someone with similar problems who may read this along the way.

Thats it for today


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## msumuscle (Jun 5, 2012)

What kind of physique are you trying to achieve?


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## msumuscle (Jun 5, 2012)

I would definitely toss out the whole body workout and build a 4-5 day split routine.


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## haynea4f (Jun 6, 2012)

Right now i am going for a lean physique. From 19% bf to 12% or less. Why do you recommend a 4-5 day split over full body? When would full body be useful? I did read the stickies and went with the advice given to a beginner which is this routine.


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## haynea4f (Jun 6, 2012)

Today was my first physical therapy session. I have to work out a kink with my insurance but full time pt should be going next week. He recommended 3x a week for 4-6 weeks. Today was determining my range of motion and simple tips before i come back next week. He told me i have the 3rd or 4th tightest hamstrings he has ever seen. He told me to get an ice pack and ice my back down several times a day for 15 minutes. Also i have to practice tightening a muscle like i am holding in a bowel movement. Apparently thats a muscle that is deep under the outer muscles.

On a side note i didnt take my multivitamin and i feel sluggish today.

Tomorrow is supposed to be a workoit day but i will do it friday morning. I have yard work and a doctors appt tomorrow after work.

Thats all for now.


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## msumuscle (Jun 6, 2012)

Full body workouts don't give enough attention to each muscle.  It will give you some good functional strength but you will see much better results from splitting up your workouts and focusing on one muscle group per workout.


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## haynea4f (Jun 6, 2012)

Can you provide an example of a 4 day split?


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## msumuscle (Jun 7, 2012)

Monday-Chest/Triceps, Tuesday - Back and Biceps, Wednesday- Off, Cardio, Thursday - Legs, Friday - Shoulders, Saturday & Sunday - Off


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## msumuscle (Jun 7, 2012)

I'm doing a 5 day split that looks like this
Monday- Back
Tuesday-Chest
Wednesday - Off
Thursday - Legs
Friday - Arms
Saturday - Off
Sunday - Shoulders

Repeat


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## msumuscle (Jun 7, 2012)

You can create your own if you'd like but what you want to try to do is make sure you're not getting too much overlap in muscle groups.


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## haynea4f (Jun 7, 2012)

OK thanks. I think I will give that a shot for a few months. I will start that today then since I sicked out of work and decided to stay home. I went to my doctors appointmet early so I could get the referral to physical therapy. Hopefully that will be all squared away by early next week and I can move on that. I slept with a pillow underneath my legs last night and woke up feeling really good. Back is still being a pain but no initial stiffness this morning like I am used to.

Time to get off here then hit the gym. I have to fix my irrigation control panel today for my yard. It's also 105 degrees out here in Phoenix, this should be miserable.


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