SHRUG Posted March 19, 2007 Share Posted March 19, 2007 Hey fellas, it has been some time since I have posted on the board. It has also been some time since I have trained regularly. I am down in bodyweight from my all time high of around 365lbs to 298lbs and dropping! I am starting this training log titled "SELF-RESPECT" for just that purpose. I have reached a point in my life where I just want to reach my goals for ME. I am not gonna waste time elaborating on this, becuase it is what it is. And I feel that many of you know just what I am talking about here. With that being said, I am not going to think or talk about what I have done in the past. After all the past is exactly that, THE PAST, and it does not mean a thing to me now. My lifts have all went down hill a considerable amount from my lack of any kind of a regular training schedule over the past few months. But I am not worried about this, all it means to me is that I have a clean slate to start over on. Some of my training numbers as I start back my be pathetic but reality is what DRIVES me to become what I know I must in order to respect myself as a lifter and as a human being. I have started training as hard as I can this past week and it is going well. I am very deconditioned and not able to handle the crazy volume I was once used to in my workouts. This is something I want back so bad that it drives me to near insanity. Knowing that I could not stand to think about it any longer I decided to start this training log so that I am accountable for my actions. I am hopefull that this log will be well recieved and that advice and opinions will be given frequently. I will be making the first entry in this log later this evening. I have made the commitment to myslef that I will keep up with this log every day and that I will never again take any time off of training no matter how bad I feel that I want to or even need to. I know that training is something that is truely in my soul, it defines who I am, and how I live. When I am not training I am unhappy, and not the same person. That is all for now fellas, I will update the log in 5 hours or so. Anyone who reads this between now and then please give me your thoughts on what I have written, peace. James "SHRUG" Smith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Horne Posted March 19, 2007 Share Posted March 19, 2007 James, Good to see you back. Have fun training! David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatorGrip Posted March 19, 2007 Share Posted March 19, 2007 James I think that you are moving in the right direction. There is usaully several times in our lives that we have to re-evaluate, re-consider and re-direct our efforts in a direction that we feel is the best path. I find that the only way to know that I am on the right path is to ask God for his guidance and just enough light for the step I am on. This concernes everythign in life whether it be deep personal issues, training, career choices ect... I believe in your journey and look forward to following you progress with each step you take my friend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mac Posted March 19, 2007 Share Posted March 19, 2007 It is good to have you back posting - I can certainly understand not being the same person when unable to train. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gazza Posted March 19, 2007 Share Posted March 19, 2007 James Welcome back bro i hope you end up were you want to be in life and training. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuTCH Posted March 19, 2007 Share Posted March 19, 2007 Good to see you back, Theo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bencrush Posted March 19, 2007 Share Posted March 19, 2007 Shrug, very good to have you back to training! I enjoyed our correspondence a while back and hope that you'll start smashing up the Bending Lists too. They were meant to be smashed. Especially by someone like you. Looking forward to seeing the comeback take shape and then the eventual time when your lifts eclipse your old lifts but at a lower bodyweight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
honk Posted March 19, 2007 Share Posted March 19, 2007 Some of my training numbers as I start back my be pathetic but reality is what DRIVES me to become what I know I must in order to respect myself as a lifter and as a human being. I hope you find a way to respect yourself without lifting, so that lifting will actually enrich your life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tspinillo Posted March 19, 2007 Share Posted March 19, 2007 Welcome back! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimwylie1 Posted March 19, 2007 Share Posted March 19, 2007 Good to see you back Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Florian Kellersmann Posted March 19, 2007 Share Posted March 19, 2007 Hey Shrug, good to see you on board again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amaury Posted March 19, 2007 Share Posted March 19, 2007 I have reached a point in my life where I just want to reach my goals for ME. I am not gonna waste time elaborating on this, becuase it is what it is. And I feel that many of you know just what I am talking about here. ... Welcome back Shrug. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jedd Johnson Posted March 20, 2007 Share Posted March 20, 2007 Wish you the best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHRUG Posted March 20, 2007 Author Share Posted March 20, 2007 Hey guys, sorry my post is a little late. Had to watch the PENS game after training, I am addicted to Hockey. Anyway I hit squats tonight. I am starting back real slow and only went up to 225lbs for sets and just kept going till I got to tired. I did not use any belt or anything, just a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. I am not gonna get hung up on using a belt or knee wraps even when I get to some heavy weight. I am coming back from a lower abdominal strain that has been bothering me for months that started when I was building a garage in my back yard. It is a real thorn in my side and I hope it goes away soon. It does not bother me on upper body stuff at all but doing squats, deads or of course any AB work it is a real pain. I will train around it though till it is gone. Anyway I think I am going to turn to Kettlebell training mostly until I am back in shape. They are very challenging and yet the weight is light enough that I will not hurt myself by being stupid and trying to come back to fast as I have done several times in the past. Plus they will get me into good cardiovascular shape and help me to finish cutting down in weight much faster. That is all for now guys, peace. SHRUG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHRUG Posted March 21, 2007 Author Share Posted March 21, 2007 Wednesday, March 21, 2007 - 6:19pm I just finished hitting triceps pretty hard, started off by warming up with tricep extensions with only 55lbs for 3 sets to loosen up, these were super setted with pushdowns with only 80lbs for 3 sets. Then hit the tri extensions for my working sets, stayed light for me since I am just starting to concentrate on muscle groups such as arms and in this case triceps in a workout of their very own. Did my first set with a 35lb DB for a set of 15 with each arm, I held the DB like a kettle bell as this is much harder than with your hand turned the natural way as if it was held at your side. Did my next set with the 40lber. Did my last set with the 45lber, all these sets were easy but I got the blood flowing that is for sure! My elbows were kept tight to my side and there was no shoulder action involved, tricep only, I really concentrated on this. Next I moved to pushdowns. Did my first set with 100lbs, then moved up gradually, the rest went like this. Second set 120lbs. Third set 140lbs. Fourth set 160lbs. Fifth set 180lbs. That was where I stopped for the day on tricep pushdowns, these were done very strict and no I did not stand over the weight and push straight down, I stood away from the weight, locked my arms at my sides, and the rep was done from arms sticking straight out from my body to full extension for the entire set. I did not sway or use momentum by building up speed at the top of the rep and then pushing through. I was going to move to 200lbs and could have done so being that I did no less that 12 reps on any of my sets but I just felt that I should stay at 180lbs for the day, after all, "BEWARE THE PATIENT MAN". From here I was actually getting pretty fried and I moved to an exercise that is like a Band Power Push Down if you can imagine such a beast or have actually experienced these for yourself. I did 3 sets of 25 reps with a Light Jump Strecth Band, which is the purple on be the way. I super setted these with light weight regular push downs to really kill the triceps off for the night. Between every set of 25 with the Band I would go immediately to my push down machine and do a set of 20 reps with 140lbs, then 120lbs, then 100lbs. By this time I could really feel my triceps totally engorged and they felt really tight against my body. I called it a day here and had a friend measure my arms with a flexible tape used by tailors. I had a friend do it because it is hard to get an accurate reading on your own while trying to hold the tape on the biggest part of you arm and not getting any wrinkles or twists in the tape which would add size and result in a false reading. My Left arm measured 22 and one half inches. My right arm measured 22 and 1 eighth inches. Not what they used to be but it is a start. And after all, I have considerable less body fat now. And yes I did make sure to hold my arm out from my body so as not to press it against my side and make it bigger. I made sure it was legit as one of my major goals is to have 23 and one half inch arms by Mid August while loosing 10 - 15 lbs of fat in the mean time. A lofty goal but one I know in my heart that I can achieve. That is it for now fellas, please give me your input, peace. SHRUG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lifesnotfair Posted March 21, 2007 Share Posted March 21, 2007 Big arms, dude!! 298lbs you said? How tall are you? Is it mostly fat, or are you muscles really that big? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
honk Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 Wow, 180lbs at this point of your comeback sounds like a lot to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHRUG Posted March 22, 2007 Author Share Posted March 22, 2007 I am 6'1" tall. And no bro, it is not mostly fat. I am actually getting kinda lean, who would have ever thunk it. I am only 24 but back when I was really young and stupid I never thought I would want to lean up for any reason. Eventually I got smart and here I am, who knows what will happen from here? The sky is the limit for me, at least I truely hope so! SHRUG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
climber511 Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 Welcome back skinny! Do what you know you should do - not what you want to do and you go far grasshopper! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Eaton Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 Looking forward to following your log Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GetAGrip87 Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 Keep it up Shrug!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHRUG Posted March 23, 2007 Author Share Posted March 23, 2007 Friday, March 23, 2007 - 10:01am Hey guys, sorry for updating this morning instead of last night but I watched the pens game immediately after training and it was all I could do to stay awake for the entire game. I hit Biceps yesterday very hard, I was suprised that my triceps were not really that sore. I could feel it for sure and they are sore today but not as bad as I expected. Anyway, back to biceps last night. The workout took me about 1 hour and 20 minutes to complete and I was by myself once again, I did not take big breaks between sets at all, never more than 2 minutes. The volume was very high and I was happy that over the past few weeks my arms seem to be retaining their former strength pretty quickly. Don't get me wrong, I still have a very long way to go but I am moving faster than I thought I would in this area. As far as what I did specifically, I am not gonna bother posting the entire workout yet until I feel I have some more respectable weights to post up. Exercises I did consisted of the following: Standing EZ Bar curls with my back against the wall so I could not cheat, Alternate DB curls with my back against the wall so I could not cheat, I also include many other kinds of curls that I don't really even know the proper name for. I will write out a detailed description at a later date, that will be a very long post and is the reason I am not doing it now. Some of them include the following: peaks, cons, spider, prison, and bodyweight rack curls. Those are just names that my buddies and I gave them way back in the day, I don't know if you will recognize any of them. I am also looking forward to hitting what I call the RACK as well as 21's. I also hit wrist roller last night for the first time in a long time, I strained my right forearm a few months ago pretty badly and it is still hanging on. All the strength is pretty much there and the pain is starting to decrease. I can't wait to start hitting really heavy wrist curls and wrist roller again as they are two of my favorite things to do. All I did yesterday on wrist roller was hit sets of 4 full cycles with a 50lb weight all the way up and all the way down between my sets of Biceps. I could start to feel it in my right forearm toward the end but not very much, it is getting strong again which is good cause I also can't wait to start certing on some grippers here on the board. I am finally back on track with a real solid training schedule and I already feel better, I have a ver long way to go but I want it really bad now for some reason and I don't even know why, but hey, I will take motivation in any form I can get it. I just have a burning desire to train all the time now and I am glad I finally have that back. My new motto is "BEWARE THE PATIENT MAN!" That is all for now fellas, I will be training my abs today but since I will be training them every day I will not be posting what I do for those as that would be ridiculous. This coming Saturday and Sunday will consist of only abs also. I don't want to do abs only but next week starts my rock solid schedule as follows: Monday - Bench and Triceps (Abs) Tuesday - Back and Biceps (Abs) Wednesday - Abs Thursday - Bench assistance training (Abs) Friday - Shoulders (Abs) Saturday - Abs Sunday Abs That is my new schedule as I have decided that I want to become a bench specialest. I will stick to this, I have really thought it out, I will stay motivated much easier with only having one thing to worry about. I have always wanted to see where I could take my Bench anyway and now I will have the chance to find out, I expect huge things out of myself and will be my toughest judge that is for sure. Let me know what you guys think, peace. SHRUG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp76 Posted March 25, 2007 Share Posted March 25, 2007 Looks great James. You said previously that you were going to "slim down" so I noted there was no cardio listed, is this going to happen as well as your bench specialization? Looks great all around though man. I am sure you will enjoy the journey. -Sean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHRUG Posted March 26, 2007 Author Share Posted March 26, 2007 I will do cardio with my weight vest as well as sled pullling and sledge hammer swings. I plan on doing half an hour of something every day for cardio, rotating these three things over and over. I will do alot of kettle bell work also and that will help the cardio out a great deal as well as building me a set of bullet proof shoulders! SHRUG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricMilfeld Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 I've missed your presence, James. Glad to see you hitting it again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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