In the beginning there was stick boy...

Used to be a gym rat, though you can't tell from looking at me. Guess I ether don't have the genes or I didn't work hard enough.

Anyway, I plan on starting as a beginner, so I don't hurt myself again. Always seem to do that, where I go to heavy and hard and injure myself so I end up not making progress.

My diet (for when I put the info in) can be found here:
http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/Public...?Owner=mle%5Fii

Current Stats:
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 166 lbs.
%body fat: 20%
lean mass: 132.8 lbs

Mini Goal 1:
Weight: 171 lbs.
%body fat: 20%
lean mass: 136.8 lbs
This means I have to lose 1 lb of bf and gain 4 lbs of muscle.

Final? Goal:
Weight: 175 lbs.
%bf: 15%
lean mass: 148.75
This means I have to lose 7 lbs of bf and gain 16 lbs of muscle.

Are these goals reasonable?

Some limitations are:
1) Use Atkins as much as possible - so low carb. I have lost about 20lbs on this diet. And about 35 lbs since Christmas 2002.
2) I only have mornings to work out. So this limits when I can eat and workout. Mainly due to having 2 daughters who I love and want to spend my time with.
3) My genetics, I'm not sure I can grow like most people. At one point I worked pretty hard but didn't get the results I wanted.

I will post my workout plans in the next post.

That's it for now. I'm sure I'll ad more later.

I plan on working out 3 times a week. MWF or other days of those mornings don't work out. I plan on having 1 day between each workout.

I am starting out with high reps and not that many excercises per body part. I will update my workout plan in 3 weeks to include more excercises and perhaps fewer reps heavier weights.

I will alternate between the following two workouts:

Workout 1: Chest, Legs, and Triceps
Dumbell Chest Press - 3x12
Dumbell Squat - 3x12
Dumbell Tricep Extension - 3x12
Situp/Crunches on an excersizeball 3x20 to start.

Workout 2: Shoulder, Back, and Biceps
Dumbell Shoulder Press - 3x12
Dumbell Bent Over Row - 3x12
Dumbell Bicep Curl - 3x12
Situp/Crunches on an excersizeball 3x20 to start.

All of these will be daily, even on day's I don't work out, except for the post workout shake.

Preworkout:
Protein Shake (1)
Post workout
Protein Shake (1) minus the flaxseed oil, and flaxseed meal
Non workout days"
Protein Shake (1) minus the flaxseed oil
Morning:
2 multivitamins - Costco
1 Calcium/Magnesium/Zinc 333mg/133mg/5mg
1 Vitamin C - 500mg
Lunch:
1 Calcium/Magnesium/Zinc 333mg/133mg/5mg
1 Vitamin C - 500mg
1 Vitamin E - 400 IU
2 Fish Oil Concentrate Capsule - each 1000 mg w/ Omega 3 fatty acid - EPA 150mg, DHA 100mg - 2 g fat
Bedtime:
1/2 cup Low fat Cottage Cheese

(1) Protein Shake:
4oz whole milk
4oz water
1 scoop (~24g) Chocolate Designer Whey Protein sup
1 tsp Creatine Monohydrate
1 Tbsp Flax Oil
2 Tbsp Flaxseed Meal

So this comes out to:
365 calories
24 g fat
135 mg sodium
13 total carbs
4 g fiber
6 g sugar
24.5 g protein

Today I am starting over after getting over a back injury last week.

Dumbell Chest Press - 3x12 - 25 lbs
Dumbell Squat - 3x12 - 30 lbs
Dumbell Tricep Extension - 3x12 - 8 lbs
Situp/Crunches on an excersizeball 3x20

Total time about 25 minutes.

Decided not to work out today as my back was acting up where I had injured it last week. I plan to work out tomorrow.

You're having a rough time getting started, hey? This is the most critical time - the beginning. If you can make yourself stick to it for 3 weeks, it'll be a habit.

No matter - try again! You'll get into the swing of it!

Built, Yeah I am. Motivation doesn't seem to be the issue. Well at least not right now. It seems to be mostly my back injury. I was so mad last week when I hurt my back, I had just started back into lifting and bam! I can work through pain, but this was pretty bad, I could barely turn my head or even hold still for long periods of time. A sharp pain between my spine and shoulder blade.

I started a post on it here:
http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=190502

Anyway, thanks a lot for the positive message, I needed it. And coming from someone who's accomplished so much in this area makes it all the better.

Thanks!

Workout Shoulder, Back, and Biceps

For the back I changed the Dumbell Bent Over Row to Back Extensions on a exercise ball and a Dumbbell Pull Over.

Dumbbell Shoulder Press - 3x12 - 20 lbs
Back Extensions - 3x10 - body weight
Dumbbell Pull Over - 3x12 - 25 lbs
Dumbbell Bicep Curl - 3x12 - 15 lbs
Situp/Crunches on an excersizeball 3x20 to start.

Hi mle_ii,

Sorry to hear about your back injury. Hopefully you'll have a speedy recovery.

Oh the other hand....Your WO's are lookin right on! You sure have a great routine/setup!

Btw, thank you for the tips in my gym log...much appreciated.

Take care now...

D.

Not 100% yet, but almost. I think I'm past the worst of it so I started back up.

You're welcome and Thank you!

Awww..that's good to hear. Take it easy now.

Back injuries totally suck.

Okay, I just made that sound like the OTHER injuries are happy fun time. Let me rephrase - injuries suck.

Glad you were able to do your back today - a little active recovery can really help get things moving I find, especially for back.

Good job!

Thank you!

I know I get anxious and want to see results fast..but, I have to slow down or risk injury and I do not want that..not now when I enjoying the lifting so much.

How's your back these days? Hope you are getting much better.

Yes, you don't want to make the same mistake as I did and push your self too hard too soon. I get anxious as well and think that I can lift the same as I did when I had been lifting for a few years. The very first part needs to be taken easy to build connective tissue so that you can push yourself harder later.

My back has been fine, well at least the injury. The work out I did yesterday made me sore. My wife promised a back massage, we'll see.

Glad to see you're not lifting 25lbs for bicep curls. That's about what I can lift doing 3x8. Barbells I can lift more, but DBs are tough.

LoL Well I barely made it to 6 and it took every bit of strength I had in me...it's no wonder my elbow was sore the next day. I can be so stubborn sometimes. I learn my lessons the hard way it seems. I've got so much great advice today...I'm going to follow very closely.


Hope you get that massage!