starting over after 19 years

[heavypieces]

After thinking about it for two days now I am going to stay at 2100 calories for one more week. I will take a picture of my body and make a decision at that point.

 

[heavypieces]

weighed in at 256 this morning.

Yesterday was chest, tri's and hiit.

db bench 55x10, 60x8, 65x3, last set ran the rack starting at 45 lbs
decline bench 90x10x4
incline db 45x10x4
cable flies 20x10x4

skull crushers 55x10, 65x10, 75x10x2
cable rope overhead extensions 30x10x3, 40x10
curve bar pull downs 30x10x3, 40x10

HIIT lifecycle 1 min good pace 30 sec all out alternating for 15 min.

eats

breakfast

wheaties and milk 450 cal
protein drink 220 cal

workout

post workout drink 220 cal

lunch
whole wheat english muffin w/ 1 tbs of PB 430 cal

snack
banana 90 cal

dinner (weekly cheat meal)
2 chicken breast 374 cal
2 russet potatoes 336 cal
broccoli 44 cal
butter 1 tbs 51 cal
sour cream 2 tbs 60 cal
1 piece of cake 352 cal

2500 total calories

fat 62 g
cho 306 cal
protein 196 cal

 

[heavypieces]

weighed in at 256 this morning

 

[carnivalhobo]

If your elbow is still sore take it easy on the skull crushers, these always make mine worse. Also I didnt remember if you were taking any fish oil, as it usually helps with joint pain and everything else, including fat loss.

post up some more pics so we/you can evaluate your progress. The mirror > the scale in importance.

 

[heavypieces]

If your elbow is still sore take it easy on the skull crushers, these always make mine worse. Also I didnt remember if you were taking any fish oil, as it usually helps with joint pain and everything else, including fat loss.

post up some more pics so we/you can evaluate your progress. The mirror > the scale in importance.

Thanks. I will get on the fish oil. I could use some guidance on dose and vendor though.

The elbow is great now. Ice did wonders.

New pics of my gut will be posted saturday morning. I am going to post some pictures of my body with back and front double biceps and a side pic too so I can document muscle development and fat loss in a little more detail.

Thanks for the suggestions.

HP

 

[EasyEJL]

really any fish oil that is body oil is fine (cod liver oil not so much). I've used the walmart brand before. you probably want in the 6g total per day so 6 caps if they are 1000mg caps, 5 if they are the 1200s

 

[heavypieces]

legs and HIIT

squats 130x10, 180x10, 200x10, 200x10
hack squat machine 70x10, 90x10, 110x10, 130x10
machine leg press machine 180x10, 270x10, 360x10x2
calf raises 180x10, 270x10, 360x10x2
leg extensions 80x10x4
leg curl machine 65x10x4

hiit on the elliptical cross trainer 1 min @ 150 cycles per min followed by 30 sec 220 cycles per min for 15 minutes.

breakfast
banana 105 cal
protein drink 210 cal
biocell 112 cal

workout

post workout protein drink and biocell 322 cal

lunch
sushi 560 cal
edamame 100

afternoon snack
turkey breast 240 cal

dinner
ham wrap 457 cal

1970 calories

fat 48 cal
cho 178 cal
protein 211 cal

good workout today. changed up my HIIT today. I was getting use to the stationary bike.

HP

 

[heavypieces]

busy work day so I switched up my off day from tomorrow to today.

Meals

1915 calories

fat 45 g
cho 169 g
protein 213 g

breakfast
oatmeal 157 cal

lunch
2 chicken breast 360
green beans 25

snack 1
granola bar 180

snack 2
nuts 170 cal
protein drink 210 cal

snack 3

apple 95 cal

late dinner

egg whites and ham on a tortilla 674

legs, triceps and chest feel a little sore, in a good way.

My mother-in-law commented today that my "weight loss is amazing."

I'm a little bummed I didn't get a chance to hit the gym today. I'm still super motivated.

Peace,

Heavypieces

 

[heavypieces]

Weigh in @ 256 this morning. I'm still spending lots of time in the evening reading about bb, fat loss, gaining muscle and strength. Also I am still looking for more information on the proper diet. I've taken to wavelength's advice on bb.com. I'm looking toward to Saturdays progress picture.

Hp

 

[heavypieces]

switched up my splits and exercises today in an effort to shock by body and get that nice soreness tomorrow. Shoulders, back and HIIT.

Arnold press
35x10, 40x10, 45x8, 45x4
upright row
40x10, 60x10, 70x10, 80x10
cable front raises
10x10x3, 20x10
cable rear raises
10x10x2, 20x10x2

cable seated high rows
100x10, 150x8, 160x6, 160x 6
machine lat pull downs
100x10, 120x10, 130x8, 130x6--down the stack starting at 130x5, 100x6, 80x6, 50x19
straight leg deadlift machine
80x10, 90x10, 100x10, 110x10
cable seated rows
100x10, 110x10, 120x10, 120x10

HIIT with the elliptical crosstrainer 15 min.

total calories 1965

fat 32g
cho 166 g
protein 255 g

breakfast
whole wheat bagel w/ PB 302
protein drink 210
biocell creatine 56

lunch
3 chicken breast 426

post workout snack
protein drink 210
biocell creatine 56
orange 70

dinner
2 chicken breast and a whole wheat bagel 544

 

[heavypieces]

chest and triceps today

db press 55x10, 60x8, 65x6, 70x4* down the rack 40x4, 30x4, 20x10, 15x10
decline barbell benchpress 40x10, 60x10, 80x10, 100x6
incline barbell bench press 40x10, 60x10, 80x10, 100x4
pec deck 50x10, 60x10, 70x10x2

dumbell triceps extensions (bench) 20x10, 25x10, 30x6, 25x10
V bar cable pull downs 25x10, 30x10x3
reverse grip cable pull down 25x10x4

diet was pretty much the same as always except I added one extra protein drink and banana because I worked out after dinner.

total calories 2302

fat 62.9
cho 226
protein 214

Good hard workout. I am really trying to increase the weight I lift but it's a bit sketchy since I don't have a workout partner yet.

Progress pics in one day and a wake up.

Peace,

HP

 

[Vance]

chest and triceps today

db press 55x10, 60x8, 65x6, 70x4* down the rack 40x4, 30x4, 20x10, 15x10
decline barbell benchpress 40x10, 60x10, 80x10, 100x6
incline barbell bench press 40x10, 60x10, 80x10, 100x4
pec deck 50x10, 60x10, 70x10x2

dumbell triceps extensions (bench) 20x10, 25x10, 30x6, 25x10
V bar cable pull downs 25x10, 30x10x3
reverse grip cable pull down 25x10x4

diet was pretty much the same as always except I added one extra protein drink and banana because I worked out after dinner.

total calories 2302

fat 62.9
cho 226
protein 214

Good hard workout. I am really trying to increase the weight I lift but it's a bit sketchy since I don't have a workout partner yet.

Progress pics in one day and a wake up.

Peace,

HP

If you're worried about not having a spot bud, make that last extra rep a cheat/half rep to make sure you don't end up dropping a bar on your face.

Extra rep will make a big difference though!

 

[EasyEJL]

another option is to purposefully do your 1 or 2 heavy sets on the smith machine instead, and do weights you are comfortable with for the 8-12 reps with regular bar

 

[heavypieces]

legs today--and I hit em as hard as I could.

squats
130x10, 180x10, 220x6, 270x3
hacksquat machine
90x10, 140x10, 160x6, 180x6
leg press machine superset with calf raises
180x10, 270x10, 360x10, 450x6
leg extensions
60x10, 70x10, 80x10, 90x10
leg curls
65x10, 80x10x3

diet
2072 calories

fat 66g
cho 229
protein 154 g

I will add another meal here to bring up protein another 50 g.

Just killed my legs today. I'm looking forward to feel the pain tomorrow.

 

[heavypieces]

progress pics 7 weeks

progress pics

sept 15
sept 26
oct 11
oct 24

 

[heavypieces]

255 this morning. I'm still losing some weight but it has slowed for sure. I haven't seen the scale hit 260 in a few days. My diet has been messed up for two days so I am going to get back on track today.

Heavypieces

 

[heavypieces]

shoulders and abs today

military press machine 50x10, 60x10, 70x6, 80x3
machine rear raise 40x10, 50x10, 65x10, 70x10
db front raises superset with db lat raises 15x10, 20x10, 25x10, 20x10
cable side lat raises 10x10, 20x10x3

kneeling cable crunch 60x20x2, 70x20, 60x20
incline reverse crunch 25repsx2, 15reps, 10 reps

diet

breakfast
7 egg whites on 2 slices of whole grain 255 cal

workout

after workout snack
isopure shake 210 cal
pistachios 349 cal

lunch
2 skinless chicken breast 425 cal

snack pretzels 122 cal

dinner PBJ 479 cal

1948 calories

fat 64 g
cho 148 g
protein 191 g

feeling good. I don't get that nagging hunger too much anymore. I guess I am getting use to eating like this. I know I still need to add veggies.

HP

 

[heavypieces]

no workout today

1860 calories

fat 43g
cho 190g
protein 194g

HP

 

[heavypieces]

back, biceps and HIIT

seated cable high rows
seated low row
straight leg dead lift
t-bar rows

ez bar curls 65x10, 70x10, 80x10, 80x6
reclining db curls
reverse grip barbell curls 30x10, 40x10, 50x10x2

HIIT elliptical trainer 30 sec x 1 min over 15 min.

Diet

Breakfast

protein drink 210
biocell 56
whole wheat bagel 260

Workout 7 am

After workout snack

protein drink 210
biocell 56
banana 90

lunch

ham sandwich 423

dinner

1 chicken breast 142
2.5 slices of cheese 282

prebed snack

protein shake 210 cal

1930 calories

fat 58 g
cho 143 g
protein 220 g

I'm going to keep my carbs under 150g per day for a while and see what happens.

Heavypieces

 

[carnivalhobo]

you are doing great!

The proof is in the pics. I wouldnt worry too much about the scale weight if the mirror keeps showing you progress. There is a lot of room for muscle on your frame so as long as your strength is up just grind through it.

Keep us posted on how the lower carbs go.

 

[heavypieces]

you are doing great!

The proof is in the pics. I wouldnt worry too much about the scale weight if the mirror keeps showing you progress. There is a lot of room for muscle on your frame so as long as your strength is up just grind through it.

Keep us posted on how the lower carbs go.

Thanks bro. I see changes but I am still wondering if they would come faster if bump my total calories up to 2500 or so for a couple of weeks then drop em back down to 2000 per day.

I get feedback both ways. I'll post pics of my back soon. Got some fat hidden there...:bad:

 

[Vance]

Great progress so far HP!

I'd maybe consider upping the weight and dropping the reps on some of your exercises at this stage. Have one warm up set of soft weight where you can hit 12-15 reps without killing yourself then up the weight to something you're doing 5-6 reps of max, do that for 3 sets then on your final set drop the weight back to your warm up weight and go on that until absolute failure.

Shock and awe those muscles into growing which will help give your metabolism a kick up the clacker and help your burn off more fat. Boys are right though, you'll find you'll hit a period where the mirror will be a much better judge than the scale. Your muscle gain will begin to balance out your fat loss, and you only need to look at the pics to see this. Remember muscle is denser than fat so takes up less space. Hence the mirror has been kinder to you than the scale recently.

More muscle though, the higher your metabolism will get to maintain it.

Keep up the good work! :thumbsup:

 

[heavypieces]

Great progress so far HP!

I'd maybe consider upping the weight and dropping the reps on some of your exercises at this stage. Have one warm up set of soft weight where you can hit 12-15 reps without killing yourself then up the weight to something you're doing 5-6 reps of max, do that for 3 sets then on your final set drop the weight back to your warm up weight and go on that until absolute failure.

Shock and awe those muscles into growing which will help give your metabolism a kick up the clacker and help your burn off more fat. Boys are right though, you'll find you'll hit a period where the mirror will be a much better judge than the scale. Your muscle gain will begin to balance out your fat loss, and you only need to look at the pics to see this. Remember muscle is denser than fat so takes up less space. Hence the mirror has been kinder to you than the scale recently.

More muscle though, the higher your metabolism will get to maintain it.

Keep up the good work! :thumbsup:

Thanks bro. We are on the same page. I hit the chest and tri's hard today and I dropped my reps down to 5-6 range and upped the weight. I hit a couple of personal records.

I'm going to hold the course with my diet as long as my body is changing.

 

[heavypieces]

chest triceps and HIIT

db bench 60x10, 65x8, 70x6, 75x6. down the rack from 45 lbs
incline bench 60x10, 80x10, 100x10, 120x6
fly machine 70x10x4

skull crushers 35x10, 40x10, 60x10x2
reverse cable pull down 20x10, 30x10, 40x10x2
cable pull downs 30x10, 40x10, 50x10x2
kneeling cable triceps extension w/rope back to machine 30x10, 40x10, 50x5, 60x5

HIIT elliptical cross trainer 15 min 1 min moderate speed 30 sec fast

diet

1948 calories

fat 59 g
cho 135 g
protein 222 g

Day 2 with cho<150 g

Heavypieces

 

[heavypieces]

By the way I really appreciate the encouragement from everyone. It really helps me stay motivated.

HP

 

[heavypieces]

252 this morning. down another 2 lbs.

legs today

squats 130x10, 180x10, 220x10, 270x6, 130x10
machine hack squats 90x10, 140x10, 160x10, 180x10
invert leg press machine 180x10, 270x10, 360x10, 450x10
calf raises 180x10, 270x10, 360x10, 450x10
leg extensions 60x10, 70x10, 80x10, 90x10

no HIIT

Day 3 of carbs<150g

 

[heavypieces]

Weighed in @ 250 lbs this morning. It looks like lowering carbs helped!

 

[carnivalhobo]

Good to hear the carbs are working out. Make sure you are getting some green veggies to keep things moving. If you hit a plateau in strength just jack the carbs up for a day or two from clean sources and then back down.

 

[EasyEJL]

its all about patience, and making sure you change things up every so often

 

[heavypieces]

day off today.



1633 calories

fat 51 g
cho 71 g
protein 232 g

 

[mjm007]

Great progress, your effort is inspiring to everyone who has read it on here. Keep it up.

 

[heavypieces]

Great progress, your effort is inspiring to everyone who has read it on here. Keep it up.

Thanks!! I appreciate the note.

 

[heavypieces]

250 lbs this morning.

 

[heavypieces]

Yesterday was shoulders and abs

I was pretty pressed for time so I had to cut it short.

Arnold presses 35x10, 40x10, 45x10x2
lat raise machine 45x10, 60x10, 75x6, 90x5*
cable front raises 10x10, 20x10x3

cable crunches 60x20, 70x20x3

total calories 1821

fat 68g
cho 85 g
protein 228 g

 

[heavypieces]

weighed in at 249 this morning. I am dropping weight fast now. The combination of lowering total calories through dropping my amount of carbohydrates has put my diet into turbo. I understand that losing 1-2 lbs a week is optimal but I wonder if that is true for a person with an unhealthy amount of body fat. I feel ok although I had a cramp in my calf. That's not all that unusual for me. Energy level is high and motivation is still there. I will keep an eye out for muscle loss. I want to avoid that.

HP

 

[EasyEJL]

at your size even 2.5lbs a week isn't too bad, 1% of bodyweight

 

[heavypieces]

back and biceps yesterday

Again an abbreviated workout due to all kinds of stuff happening yesterday.

lat pull down
120 x10, 150x10, 170x5x2
straight leg deadlift
130x10, 180x10, 230x5, 250x5*

ez bar curl
65x10, 85x5, 105x5x2*

*denotes personal records

diet

breakfast
whole wheat bagel 280 cal
PB 142

snack
banana 100
protein drink 210

workout

protein drink 90

dinner
carna asada 800
rice 161
beans 118
tortilla, corn 160
cake 470
ice cream 133

3056 calories

fat 114 g
cho 276 g
protein 250 g



It was my birthday yesterday so the cheat meal came on Saturday night.

HP

 

[heavypieces]

250 lbs this morning

 

[heavypieces]

back and biceps

overhead rows
140x10, 170x10, 180x6, 190x4
lat pull down
120x10, 140x10, 150x4x2
straight leg deadlift
130x10, 180x10, 220x10x2

cable preacher curls
40x10x4
ez bar curls
40x10, 50x10, 60x10, 70x10
reclining db curls
15x10, 20x10, 25x10, 30x10

1984 calories total

fat 55g
cho 131 g
protein 260 g

Lifted with a buddy today and he wanted to do back and biceps. So I ran em again. Good pump. I was hungry at the end of the day--I assume this is because I ate high carbs yesterday. I'm always more hungry when I over do the carbs. 6 days until I post my next progress pics.

HP

 

[heavypieces]

chest tri's and HIIT

hammersmith bench press mach.
90x10, 140x10, 180x6, 200x3*
decline db press
45x10, 55x10, 75x6, 75x5
Incline bench
60x10, 90x10, 110x5x2
pull over machine
140x10, 160x10, 170x10, 180x10

skull crushers
50x10, 60x10, 70x6x2
rope cable overhead tri extensions
40x10, 50x6x3
push downs
30x10, 40x10, 50x5x2
one hand reverse push down
10x10, 20x10x3

HIIT elliptical cross trainer 45 sec/45 sec for 15 min.

2666 total calories

breakfast
bagel 260 cal
isopure protein drink 210

workout 6:30-8 am

post workout
isopure drink 210 cal

lunch
original gourmet burrito w/ chicken 600 cal

snack
1.5 slice of cheese 169 cal

dinner steak 1 lb prime cut fat trimmed 1170 cal
asparagus fresh grilled 27 cal


Went way over during dinner. I guess I just needed some red meat.

Legs tomorrow!!! Oh yes.

 

[heavypieces]

yesterday

250 lbs

 

[heavypieces]

legs and HIIT

squats
130x10, 180x10, 220x10, 270x3
leg press machine
270x10, 360x10, 450x10, 540x6
seated calf raises
270x10, 360x10, 450x10, 540x10
leg extensions
70x10, 90x10, 110x10, 120x10
hack squat machine
90x10, 140x10, 180x6x2
leg curls
?

HIIT elliptical trainer 30 sec/60 sec for 15 min

1980 calories

breakfast
whole wheat bagel 260 cal
isopure protein drink 210 cal

workout

post workout snack
isopure protein drink 210

lunch
chicken burrito 629

snack
slice of cheese 160 cal

dinner
4 half chicken breast boneless/skinless 568 cal

fat 55g
cho 134 g
protein 253 g

250 lbs this morning.

Heavypieces

 

[carnivalhobo]

even if the scale isnt moving much that pic says a lot.

what kind of rest are you taking between sets, 220x10 then 270x3 seems like you arent taking much rest at all.

I would drop some of the lighter semi-warmup sets like the first two leg press sets. You should be thoroughly warm by the time you are done with squats. Try just lifting 3 sets heavy.

Same thing on your other lifts, you seem to go through this progression where you ramp up quickly to your working sets, but I think that energy would be better spent on 1 more working set with more weight. Just warm each body part up once and then attack it. I like the max-ot style warmup if you want to make sure your joints/ligaments stay happy. That warmup is 2 sets of real light weight x10 and then a set of 3 and a set of 1 for weight acclimation. I typically use 2x10 and 1x3 before normal lifts like bench/squat etc. This way you arent going from 100lbs to 220lbs on bench or something, but you dont waste your energy warming up.

EX using ur squat numbers would be 135x10, 135x10, 200x3 and then get to work with like 3 sets at 245 or whatever.

As usual if you are happy with your progress and you think this isnt going to help, then disregard it. But I think this will make your time in the gym more efficient

 

[heavypieces]

even if the scale isnt moving much that pic says a lot.

what kind of rest are you taking between sets, 220x10 then 270x3 seems like you arent taking much rest at all.

I would drop some of the lighter semi-warmup sets like the first two leg press sets. You should be thoroughly warm by the time you are done with squats. Try just lifting 3 sets heavy.

Same thing on your other lifts, you seem to go through this progression where you ramp up quickly to your working sets, but I think that energy would be better spent on 1 more working set with more weight. Just warm each body part up once and then attack it. I like the max-ot style warmup if you want to make sure your joints/ligaments stay happy. That warmup is 2 sets of real light weight x10 and then a set of 3 and a set of 1 for weight acclimation. I typically use 2x10 and 1x3 before normal lifts like bench/squat etc. This way you arent going from 100lbs to 220lbs on bench or something, but you dont waste your energy warming up.

EX using ur squat numbers would be 135x10, 135x10, 200x3 and then get to work with like 3 sets at 245 or whatever.

As usual if you are happy with your progress and you think this isnt going to help, then disregard it. But I think this will make your time in the gym more efficient

I've just spent the last hour reading some posts on 5x5. I was thinking that would be the way to go with my big three.

Split would look pretty much like it has except anchor each day with one 5x5 workout.

Day 1. Back, Biceps
Deadlift 5x5
3 other back and 3 bicep movements 4 sets each 6-8 reps

Day 2. Chest, Tri and abs
bench press 5x5
3 other chest, 3 tri movements and 2 abs

Day 3 Legs and shoulders
Squat 5x5
military press 5x5
2 leg and 3 shoulder movements

Day 4 rest

 

[heavypieces]

double biceps front and back

front and back 11-4-2009

 

[heavypieces]

shoulders, abs and HIIT

military press machine
50x10, 70x10, 90x6x2
front raises
20x10x2, 25x10x2
side raises
20x10x6
cable side raises
10x10x4

cable crunches
60x20x2, 70x20x2
leg lifts
20x4

HIIT elliptical xtrainer 45s/45s 15 min

food

1800 calories

breakfast
banana 105
isopure protein drink 210

workout 6:30 am

snack
isopure drink

lunch
ham, chedder on whole wheat 444

snack
almonds 170 cal

dinner
pasta with chicken breast 567 calories

 

[heavypieces]

250lbs this morning

 

[heavypieces]

progress pics

every other week.

 

[heavypieces]

Sorry for the lag. I've made a couple of changes. I started an cycle of Havoc on Friday and upped my total calories to 2200-2500 per day--making sure I eat clean and eat enough to continue the recomp.

30 mg epi spaced every 8 hours.
AI cycle support 2x per day
eat clean
macros 40/40/20


Day before yesterday back and biceps.

2227 calories
fat 58g
cho 236 g
protein 234 g

yesterday

chest and tri

2227 calories
fat 61 g
cho 204 g
protein 237 g

 

[heavypieces]

Weighed in at 254 lbs this morning. Jumped 4 lbs in 3 days.

Legs and shoulders

Hammered my workout. I felt great.

breakfast
whole wheat bagel 240 cal
pb 150 cal
AI cycle support
10 mg Havoc
2 g fish oil
mulitvitamin
Isopure shake 210 cal

Workout 10 am

post workout snack
isopure shake 200 cal

Lunch
2 slices of cheese 190 cal
isopure shake 100 cal
1 g Taurine

snack
2 slices of cheese 160 cal
orange 60 cal
isopure shake 100 cal
10 mg Havoc

dinner
2 chicken breast w/o skin
refried beans 200 cal

evening snack
isopure shake 100 cal
bagel 240
PB 90
AI cycle support
10 mg Havoc

2361 calories
fat 74 g
cho 176 g
protein 270 g





HP