# Bar junkie To Gym junkie!!!!!



## lithlith (Dec 7, 2009)

Sup guys, 

Happy holidays and all that happy horse shit 

I've spent the past year dunk and depressed... gained 30lbs of fat during the process. (Love is a batch)

With that depressing shit out of the way... My goals are to stay sober and in the gym. 

Of those two goals... staying sober is probably the bigger of the two... As I look into my life there are only a few changes I can make that will make my life 1000% better... quit drinking, get in the gym and quit smoking... in that order. 

*Challenges quitting drinking:* 
1.) My friends and neighbors are morons and love to drink and do nothing else. 
2.) New Years is coming up... I cant help but think there will be some temptation there. 
3.) Boredom.
4.) I play guitar out... in bars... people love to buy drinks for the guitar player... The last time I played out I drank... alot... 
I had a thought... Tell the bar tender that if anyone buys me a drink, give me sprite with a lime and charge em for a gin and tonic... (these bastards have a hard time with the word no)

*Challenges working out: *
1.) Having a hard time sleeping at night makes me snooze through my workout time. (justified with "i'll go after work.." and this happens about 30% of the time so its bs) 

2.) Keeping a routine: For some weird reason i get sick when i start working out after a couple weeks... (of course Ive been drunk the past year and i've heard that has a significant effect on your immune system) 

*Leverage: *
I've hit a critical thresh-hold in my life... Im tired of not being healthy... not feeling at 100%. My job has suffered (I have a badass great paying job and I dont want to lose it) My good friendships have suffered, my family has been concerned for me. Its like a fucking lifetime movie and I'm tired of it. I cant stand people thinking that they know best for me when I know how to live a healthy lifestyle better than them. And now its time to proove it. 

I have a plan written out, written out goals for weightloss, weightgain and lifestyle. And the foundation of these goals:  *ROUTINE*. 

This is the 1st part of my routine... every day... 
Wake up, put on coffee and prep meal 1... Drink coffee and get on my comp to read and fill up on health and fitness motivation. 

I had a thought... Maybe i would get better results if I jumped into the journal section and made that part of my routine. so....

If i fuck up or succeed you guys can slap and clap along with me. Sounds fun! 

Right on... See you tomorrow with more of the plan, gotta get to work. 

J


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## lithlith (Dec 8, 2009)

Another sober night, badass!

Getting ready for the gym now. 

*Gym Goals: over the next  month*
To create an over-all balanced fitness foundation. Strengthen stabilizers by doing compound movements for all major groups. 
I havn't been in the gym regularly for 8 - 10 months so I'm starting over. 

Im taking a break from any horiz / vertical push and vertical pull for 3 weeks. (following mind and muscle dot net slash articles slash marc_mcdougal slash posture_shoulder question page=0%2C2 for my severely externally rotated humeri) 

That said, I can still do legs without any stress. 

Vert push at a forward angle (never done these but we'll see how it goes this week, I'll journal about how it feels) 

Pulls that pinch shoulder blades (face pulls / Seated Cable Row with a Pronated/Medium Grip / Horiz pull up pinching shoulder blades) 
Im going to stick to those movements along with stretching my pec major / minor and lats. along with unilateral external rotations for the next month. 

*One thing im not sure about is how often to do the unilateral external rotations? Every other day? every 3rd day? *

I started doing them yesterday and I can "feel" my right shoulder...

So its leg day gonna start off really slow and build up. 

Anyway today (well see how this feels to start off and add if its way to easy) : 
Lunges (body weight) 
RDL  50lb X3 
Goblet squats 30lbs X3
1 Leg DL 

End out with cardio and stretch maj / min pec and lats

*Diet: *
Im easing into this one too... I Cleaned out any bullshit from my cupboards and fridge. 
*Whats in my fridge: *
Loaded up with on shrimp, chicken breast, turkey breast patties, salmon fillets (i bought some bullshit fillets... went cheap on these... not going to do it again they are terrible) and some talipia fillets. Big bag of basmati rice (I know i know give me something to look forward to) 
Broccoli heads, zuccini, yellow squash, onions (green and white). 
I've been grilling up zuccinni and squash lately with a little olive oil and pepper :drool: 
So i'm not micromanaging my diet yet. but i've been staying pretty clean. The only meal that kinda sucks is my meals at work. I got 1/2 lb of processed bullshit deli turkey with some flat breads at the work fridge. Been chomping those for half my meals. 

 I drink way to much diet soda. Found myself pouring water,,, wanting to drink water,,, then really wanting a diet soda... Its carbonated goodness is good, great and all that is holy  I think I'm just going to not buy it any more. Gonna stick to water and tea.

lol the dude on the news just said 
"how you can have take a piece of..." heh I love it when those guys mess up

Ah i got some more leverage to add to the leverage pile... I think im going to post a leverage post... just to read when i start feeling weak. 
I'll probably do that tonight after i pass up circle k with my middle finger up @ the 12 pack i got tempted to buy.


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## lithlith (Dec 8, 2009)

Today: 
Lunges
RDL 50lbs x3
Goblet Squats 35lbs x3
1leg dl 2 10lbs db's x3

Cardio: 45mins elip

Stretched pec maj/min and traps 

Diet was clean today, drank 1 diet soda.


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## katt (Dec 9, 2009)

Sweet!  Just remind yourself that it's one day at a time,, until you get used to it and get in a routine.

I totally hear you on the diet pop thing.. I was a diet pepsi fanatic,,   I had to take that first guzzling drink until my throat burned from the carbonation..  well, I still do that every now and then 

I'll be checking in on this journal - good luck


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## lithlith (Dec 9, 2009)

Apparently, i forgot to click "POST" this morning. so 

Another sober night, up a little late and getting ready for the gym. 
Had a bitch of a time sleeping last night. I sense that it will get better as this routine continues... I hope. 

Went crazy last night on some triscuits and string cheese... that sucked...

I took my measurements yesterday morning:
27% bf @ 242 lbs. 65.34lbs of fat.
Chest: 45" 
Belly: 45.5"
Thigh: 27" 

*Wisdom for comfort so I dont stab myself in the eye with a pencil:* 
On a journey, its not where you start that matters, its where you are going. 

I'm measuring those matrix for progress on a weekly basis. 

On a side note, my mac mini media center just got upgraded to snow leopard... effing thing keeps freezing on me. Im about to throw it like a damn frisbee.


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## lithlith (Dec 9, 2009)

katt said:


> Sweet!  Just remind yourself that it's one day at a time,, until you get used to it and get in a routine.
> 
> I totally hear you on the diet pop thing.. I was a diet pepsi fanatic,,   I had to take that first guzzling drink until my throat burned from the carbonation..  well, I still do that every now and then
> 
> I'll be checking in on this journal - good luck



Right on! thanks so much for the encouragement katt!

Yeah I think Im just not going to buy it any more... The worse is that i love spicy food and thats when water just doesn't even look or sound good


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## lithlith (Dec 9, 2009)

Getting ready for bed, had a good day! 


Dynamic leg and core stretches b4 45 mins on elip.
Stretch pec maj / min / lats
unilateral external rotations @ home with no weight... *(is this pointless????) *

I think i'll do them tomorrow am @ the gym with light weight along with my overhead press leaning forward on an incline bench. 
(alot of words for an easy concept)


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## lithlith (Dec 10, 2009)

The universe always does this bullshit... 

You start on a path and something happens out of the blue to make your life suck... 

@ work we finished a project early and they bought lunch for the team. ... pizza

I'm sticking to my turkey breast sandwich on whole wheat and almonds. 

*pats myself on the back*


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## awhites1 (Dec 10, 2009)

sounds good man. just keep eating clean and stay in the gym. went through that period almost a year ago myself. stuff that made me drink and people that didn't help. yeah gotta be careful about that, can't let anyone or anything drag your good habits down. stick with and good luck


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## lithlith (Dec 11, 2009)

awhites1 said:


> sounds good man. just keep eating clean and stay in the gym. went through that period almost a year ago myself. stuff that made me drink and people that didn't help. yeah gotta be careful about that, can't let anyone or anything drag your good habits down. stick with and good luck



Awesome encouragement man, i really appreciate it 

So, I managed to dodge the pizza bullet yesterday, didnt drink, went to the gym, went to bed super early and managed close to 8 hours in bed... Yesterday was good. 

The routine is off to a great start with a little momentum. But i'm still at the bottom of the hill... Got a *long* way to go up this damn hill before routine becomes habit and habit becomes lifestyle and lifestyle becomes destiny... (Theres some influence from tony robbins' goofy ass) 

My shoulders are still feeling my unilateral external rotations. I went a little nuts on the seated row and can feel it in my upper back. 

By the way, doing shoulder press at 85 degrees against an adjustable bench feels really retarded. I know im jacking up the form for this so... I dont really know what to do. 

*fyi: *
You get some funny looks setting up camp on an adjustable bench, doing shoulder presses with 10lb db's (moving down to 5's) then (as it is written) start stretching your pecs like you just bench pressed... probably should re-order that one as to not look like a complete effing moron. 

Just going to keep on with the plan and do my stretches...

Eyes on the prize, 3 weeks of this retarded bs then I can start crafting a training routine... Really looking forward to that.


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## lithlith (Dec 12, 2009)

Last night was the company xmas party. Open bar at a american junkie in scottsdale. Was fun, had more drinks than I thought I would have (5 tang and tonics) set out to have 2. Woke up today and routine stayed the same except i got up later... Thats a good thing. 

Did my external unilateral extensions, seated rows. 
45 minutes of cardio. 

Today is shopping day, Tomorrow is leg day. 

Shrimp is on super sale right now... gonna load up.


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## lithlith (Dec 14, 2009)

Weekly progress: 
238 lbs  25.5 - 26.5% bf

43.5" chest
43.5" belly
27"    thigh 


So, 1 week in - 2 a days have been paying off. Lost 4 lbs and approx 1.5" from my chest and belly. 



Getting ready for the gym now.


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## lithlith (Dec 14, 2009)

So, 

Bought a bottle of tang on friday (brought a chick home from the party on fri) 
So tonight the cards play and my neighbor brought over some steaks... Had the rest of the tang with some sprite. Journaling at the half of the cards / 49's game. I'm more buzzed then I would have guessed and tomorrow I'll be at the gym. 

Will journal tomorrow AM to make sure this is true:>
J


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## lithlith (Dec 14, 2009)

BTW: ..... The cards are BLOWING!!!!... Christ... wtf is going on?


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## lithlith (Dec 15, 2009)

*Quick update:*
Got up late, have a headache and getting ready for the gym. 

Oh yeah, this is why I stopped drinking... I remember now


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## lithlith (Dec 16, 2009)

Getting ready to head to the gym. Yesterday did 45mins on the elip. 
stretched twice. 

Diet sucked. Didn't eat until meal 3 time.Had a turkey sandwich and a bunch of cheezeits. 
Fried shrimp and then topped off the day with a quesadilla. 

Tightening it back up today. 

*afterthoughts: *
Its not the act of drinking that sets you back, its the aftermath that really blows.


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## lithlith (Dec 17, 2009)

Getting ready for the gym, yesterday did 45 on the elip. Was running a little late, I didn't stretch my pecs or lats. 

Will do it today. 1 more week to go till i can start doing push and vert pulls.


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## lithlith (Dec 18, 2009)

Yesterday was good, diet was clean. 

Getting ready for the gym now.


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## lithlith (Dec 19, 2009)

Yesterday was good.. neighbor said thank you for modding her wii by surprising me with pizza hut. goody  So i had a couple peices...other then that the diets been pretty clean. 

Getting ready for the gym. 

yesterday did all the external rotations and sub scrap stretch. 

ttyl


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## Curt James (Dec 19, 2009)

Wishing you the best in achieving your goals!


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## lithlith (Dec 20, 2009)

Thanks man! 

Getting ready for the gym now... i frickin went out again last night! jesus... This really is a thing! 

I think thats 3 days of waking up and writing the same thing in one week now... i only planned on one of em, Theres a reality check. 

I really need to beat this thing into submission... 
I think it will get better next week... once i start my routine and really lock into the joy that comes with crafting a routine / diet and then executing it... I think it will solve itself, it has in the past.. in the meantime apparently i have the will power of nat in a hurricane so im just gonna stay away from influence. All though, if the cards play as bad as they did last week, i'll drink mesa dry.


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## lithlith (Dec 22, 2009)

Forgot to post my sunday weekly progress... I'm at just under 25% bf.

That was averaged over 6 measurements because it seemed too good to be true and they were all right around there so I'm pretty stoked! 

So there is some great improvements happening on a weekly basis. Thats great! 

I didnt go to the gym yesterday and my diet was clean. 

Getting ready for the gym now.


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## awhites1 (Dec 22, 2009)

sounds like your making progress. I'm still watching man....sounds like you were hittin the sauce a little last week though. I can't really say anything though, I gained 5 lbs last week, worked out 5 days strait two a days on two of those days- still gained fat from all the food around the office. hate this time a year. Sounds like your losing. I need to


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## lithlith (Dec 22, 2009)

hahaha true man! The company brought in pizza and beer today lol

They dont ever bring in pizza and frosty alcoholic treats until you start to focus on diet  .ever. frickin sadists


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## Curt James (Dec 24, 2009)

lithlith said:


> hahaha true man! The company brought in pizza and beer today lol
> 
> They dont ever bring in pizza and frosty alcoholic treats until you start to focus on diet  .ever. frickin sadists



I went cold turkey for booze all of 2008 and up until June 2009 when I bought a case for an end of school bbq with friends. 

Only three bottles of Bud in 2007, one with a steak at Appleby's and two others during the World Series.

But I've never been an especially heavy drinker. At least not after getting out of the service where there was some serious enough drinking going on.

Tough to stay on the wagon during the holidays with those parties and temptation everywhere. Ever consider, and would your health insurance allow, a rehab center? If you can't stop drinking by yourself then perhaps it's time to step it up a level.

Again, wishin you the best.


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## lithlith (Dec 25, 2009)

Curt James said:


> I went cold turkey for booze all of 2008 and up until June 2009 when I bought a case for an end of school bbq with friends.
> 
> Only three bottles of Bud in 2007, one with a steak at Appleby's and two others during the World Series.
> 
> ...



Right on man, thanks!

I strongly believe that I have enough power with-in-side myself to do this without outside help. 

Merry xmas everyone! I'm out of town, will be back sat or sun. 

btw... Got myself a ps3 for xmas, call of duty modern warfare 2 is tits!


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## awhites1 (Dec 29, 2009)

how did you do over the holidays? kill it or get killed?


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## lithlith (Dec 30, 2009)

*Holiday update*



awhites1 said:


> how did you do over the holidays? kill it or get killed?



Both! I ended up going out of town but still getting cardio in. 

Diet struggled... hard to say no to grandma shoving tacos in your face. 

Struggled with drinking a couple nights (stopped after a few) and just said no a couple nights... so... not a failure.. but not a grand slam either. Im not down... just keep pushing!

Right on for the accountability... this journal really works!

I should have started my weight pushing routine this week... That i did not do and i did not do anything to correct my posture deviation. 

All-though it is noticeably better. 
My bf% avged out to 25.3... so im about the same over xmas weekend. I almost didnt even measure on sunday cuz i didnt push it... but i settled on its more important to measure on the weeks you fall short then it is to measure on the weeks you do good. 

I've resolved not to go out or drink for new years this year. 

Routine is coming up later today... gonna put it together today and post.


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## awhites1 (Dec 30, 2009)

lithlith said:


> Both! I ended up going out of town but still getting cardio in.
> 
> Diet struggled... hard to say no to grandma shoving tacos in your face.



mmmm. i find it hard when my grandma shoves a taco in my face too

well yeah, you did better than me. I put on 5 lbs over the week. i worked out everyday that week too and still put on 5 lbs. even doing cardio two of those days which i never do...which just goes to show you how important diet is.
keep it up


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## lithlith (Jan 1, 2010)

Hey guys....

awhites1: I hear that!  Keep it strong... easy to say over here from easy-ville  I'm in that 1st 2 month period where just thinking about building muscle helps  

That said... 

I slacked on getting my routine in here... 

I _WILL_ post it today, It _IS_ planned.. and... please... lets refine that bitch... Finally I'm to the point where I can actually build some muscle. 

btw... I drank some wine last night and did tonight too... so we'll see how that goes tomorrow.
I'll post tomorrow after coffee 

Holidays are an easy out... but I'm still mentally here! (give me shit 

J


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## lithlith (Jan 6, 2010)

It was a tossup between a plp split and a full body. I posted earlier in the training forum and i got feedback both ways. I'm pretty comfortable with both. I entertained the idea of doing a fb for a short time then moving to a p/l/p but honestly I have some muscle already... im not weak but i want to start off slow and quickly / _safely_ get back to where I was. So i decided to split. I think its fine. 

Routine Overview: 
Push / Leg / Pull:
push: 2 horiz push, 2 vert push, 1 tri
leg: 2 push movements, 2 pull movements, 1 calf
pull: 2 horiz pull, 2 vert pulls, 1 bic

Thats an overview obviously of how it will ultimately end up. 

Im still aware that i need stretch my chest / back and keep on getting results for my internal rotation as well as cut one of those movements from push / vert pull. So i was going to alternate between cutting 1 each week and replace with sub scarp(? sp) stretch 

On my pull day, i can still throw in some face pulls and other beneficial movements to help it along. 

I've seen some huge improvements in the mirror on my humeri. 

as for specifics on the routine... Im going to start off light with it and gradually build. 
push: 
db bench: warm up with 40's (14) 3x 6-9 with 50 - 55's
shoulder press bb: warm up with bar(12 - 14) 3x 6-9 with 30lbs on bar
(remove one horiz / vert push)
cable pulldown (tri) - I have no reference on which number to start wwith so nice to say start light and work my way up.

leg: 
squat warmup 20 x 12 - 14, 6 - 9 50 x3
rdl: warmup with 20x12, 6-9 50 x3
lunges or goblet squats
maybe pullthroughs if my lower back isnt pissed off
calf raises

pull: 
cable pulldown(have no reference on which # to start with)
bent over rows(warmup with bar) 3x 30-50(if 50 sux, go to 30) 6-9
(alternate between removeing one vert pull and push each week) 
facepulls / seated pull with med grip light 

This is just guidelines.. it will make itself more clear as it goes. 


I've been keeping a clean diet and slipped up a couple times on the alc and gym things. But im back to getting to bed early and up early. 
On my way to the gym now.


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## awhites1 (Jan 6, 2010)

lithlith said:


> Hey guys....
> 
> awhites1: I hear that!  Keep it strong... easy to say over here from easy-ville  I'm in that 1st 2 month period where just thinking about building muscle helps
> 
> ...



that alcohol is trash man. it is a lot worse than you think. even in small i amounts I'ld stay away from it. works on your self control to just cut it out completely. something you might start doing is posting your diet aside from your workout routine unless of course you're comfortable with that


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## lithlith (Jan 7, 2010)

*Diet*

Yeah man... I'll start posting my diet... thats stage 2... Right now I'm just trying to lock into a routine... the holidays have been really difficult ... like a  week off from a new routine will chop down the momentum. 

Lately its been shotty over the past week ive been to the gym 3 or 4 times.

I've been having a challenge getting that momentum back... i've hitting the gym like every other day... b4 i was doing 2 a days... 

I really wanna get back into that locked in / laser focused routine. 

Not because I have some quick result expectation that im trying to sprint to... simply because the more i work out, the more i love it. And i've recognized that I focus my mind and time on my hobbies. 

If body building is a hobby... how the hell can i possibly fail? 

Anyway there is my personal rant for today: I snoozed through my alarm today and flaked on the gym. Gonna jump back on that horse tomorrow. 

Yesterday though.. (I wanted ot post this) 
Push day: 
DB Bench press: warmup 40 x 14
55lbs 6-7reps x2 and 50lbs 8
BB Shoulder press: warmup with 30 x 10 
2 sets of 30lbs x 7-8

DB declined bench 45lbs X 5, 40lbs X 5 35lbs X 6

seated db shoulder press 25lbs X 6-8 (3 sets)

Tri pull down (whatever these are called and i odnt feel like looking itup) 
on (I hate cables... because they dont have any relevent # and if there is some kind of frickin formula for know what "6" is let me know because its maddening)

Did pec / delt stretch 
Felt realy good.... was chill but im still sore from it (obviously) 

Tomorrow is leg day! Time to up my growth hormone babay!


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## lithlith (Jan 7, 2010)

awhites1 said:


> that alcohol is trash man. it is a lot worse than you think. even in small i amounts I'ld stay away from it. works on your self control to just cut it out completely. something you might start doing is posting your diet aside from your workout routine unless of course you're comfortable with that




I dont feel, in my gut, that I want to cut it out completely... but for a training period... Cutting it out completely for 2 months would be a great exercise in self control. Let me think about it and journal and see if thats something i want to commit to.


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## awhites1 (Jan 27, 2010)

haven't heard from you in awhile. work out still going good?


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## pitman (Jan 27, 2010)

lithlith said:


> Sup guys,
> 
> Happy holidays and all that happy horse shit
> 
> ...


first thing to all your recoveries is knowing you need a change..great luck to you bro...


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## awhites1 (Feb 16, 2010)

hey man....haven't heard from ya in awhile. hope your sticking with it. and hope you're seeing some progress!


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