Workout and Diet Log: 8-27-2012

Diet Log

I keep my food journal on MyNetDiary.com, a free online food diary that I can access anywhere. It keeps track of my macronutrients (protein, fat, carbs) and also my caloric intake. You can also set a weight loss goal on there and it will give you a suggested daily calorie amount to achieve that goal. I mostly try to eat clean and oftentimes fall under my calorie amount on those days, as in the case below. If I drink or have a cheat meal, sometimes I exceed my calorie amount. Fortunately, I'm a big guy and work out a lot, so my diet is more about eating healthful things than eating less.

Workout Log

Yesterday's workout was really exciting because it was the first day in my new phase. I worked out in the evening, although I'm going to start working out more in the mornings, like I did today. It makes my days feel longer and I have more flexibility in the evenings if I need it. Otherwise, I can do my other workouts like yoga and cardio away from my lifting, as Dorian Yates suggests.

The Workout

10-Minute Warmup on Treadmill

Rotator Cuff Flexion (stabilized): 2x12 at 15lbs

Decline Bench Press: 2 warmup sets (12 reps at 155, 10 reps at 155), 1 working set (7 reps at 205)

Incline Dumbbell Press: 1 warmup set (11 reps with 40s), 1 working set (8 reps with 60s)
      Note: I need to increase weight by 5lbs on my working set next time, it was a bit too easy.

Flat Bench Dumbbell Flies: 1 warmup set (10 reps with 30s), 1 working set (11 reps with 40s)
     Note: I need to increase the weight by 10lbs next time, it was way too easy.

Dumbbell Concentration Curls: 1 warmup set (10 reps with 20s), 1 working set (8 reps with 30s)
     Note: I need to increase weight by 5lbs next time, it was a bit too easy.

Straight Bar Curl: 1 working set (8 reps at 75lbs)
     Note: I need to increase weight by 10lbs next time, it was a bit too easy.

Cardio: 6.5 minutes rowing (30 seconds max force, 60 seconds easy), 10 minutes treadmill (1 min at 13-degree incline at 4mph, 1 min 4-degree incline at 3mph).

Workout Notes

So it turns out I'm much stronger than I thought. Switching from high volume to high intensity workouts is a bit of a shock. I did more than I thought I could on every workout and most were still too easy. I had to go slower to add intensity to certain lifts because it was just not going to get me to exhaustion and I also added extra reps to a couple of lifts for the same reason. Next Monday when I get back in the gym I'll have a better idea of how much I should be lifting to do this program correctly.

During cardio, I got my heart rate up over 150 about 8 or 9 times. A little bit pathetic right now. I have gone so long without doing anything but basketball for cardio that I felt like a wimp. I would have stuck with rowing, but knew that I had back this morning and didn't want to sacrifice my lifts too much, so I used it to get my heart rate elevated before stepping on the treadmill, where I was able to maintain that intensity pretty easily.

Look to see a lot more rowing as I get into this program, as I think it's the best cardio machine in the gym. I'll also be making a post explaining proper rowing form for anyone interested in giving it a try.

The other cardio I'm going to be hitting a lot is the stair stepper. It's relatively easy on my joints and it's great for calve development, which is important because it's difficult to get them to exhaustion by lifting alone.