JohnHarvard
New member
It’s finally been 1yr since I got back into the gym seriously, mainly because I was 32 and partying like I was still 22 (back when I was actually not partying so hard, but rather a serious gym rat, and solid looking at 5’10, 209lbs)
To get back in I started with 2weeks of eating a clean diet (i.e detox), transitioning into mild cardio for 3weeks (to condition the heart), then transitioned into a noob full body workout. Then Oct 2010 hit and I started back for real with beginner full body workouts.
The full-body workouts were done 3x a week (M,W,F, 3x10; to failure), HIT cardio 2x a week (Tu, Th, 30min), with a total of 12 random “off weeks” thrown in throughout the yr; due to travelling.
I Kept my diet at a clean 1900cal/d at 40:40:20 (usually erring on the side of more protein), with 1 cheat day a week; cheat food being a burger and small fry, or deep fried chicken tenders w/ sm fry, and a beer or two a month somewhere in there (quite a tone down from a guy who went on benders 2-3x a week, for a couple yrs, right b4 I started my program).
Supplements were: Whey, EC stack, CoQ10, Chrom. Pico, CLA/GLA/Omega stack, Multi Vit., & Creatine--slipped in around Dec 2010.
As for the annual results, I dropped 14lbs (245), and lowered body fat 6% (22). Everything got way more solid and slimmed down everywhere except for where I’m carrying the bulk of my fat now…around the mid-section (think classic spare tire look). Resting heart rate down at 52bpm with a 22bpm drop 1min after going from 85% to 75% exertion level during cardio, and blood pressure at 110/50 (got commended for this by my MD the other day).
Now, I’ve noticed that my strength is starting to plateau, as is my body transformation, so my Q is, should I just continue steadfast on this same path, or am I ready switch it up a bit? I have a few ideas in mind about tweaking certain things (i.e routine, diet, & supps), but would rather hear unbiased opinions of what to do, from others, first.
To get back in I started with 2weeks of eating a clean diet (i.e detox), transitioning into mild cardio for 3weeks (to condition the heart), then transitioned into a noob full body workout. Then Oct 2010 hit and I started back for real with beginner full body workouts.
The full-body workouts were done 3x a week (M,W,F, 3x10; to failure), HIT cardio 2x a week (Tu, Th, 30min), with a total of 12 random “off weeks” thrown in throughout the yr; due to travelling.
I Kept my diet at a clean 1900cal/d at 40:40:20 (usually erring on the side of more protein), with 1 cheat day a week; cheat food being a burger and small fry, or deep fried chicken tenders w/ sm fry, and a beer or two a month somewhere in there (quite a tone down from a guy who went on benders 2-3x a week, for a couple yrs, right b4 I started my program).
Supplements were: Whey, EC stack, CoQ10, Chrom. Pico, CLA/GLA/Omega stack, Multi Vit., & Creatine--slipped in around Dec 2010.
As for the annual results, I dropped 14lbs (245), and lowered body fat 6% (22). Everything got way more solid and slimmed down everywhere except for where I’m carrying the bulk of my fat now…around the mid-section (think classic spare tire look). Resting heart rate down at 52bpm with a 22bpm drop 1min after going from 85% to 75% exertion level during cardio, and blood pressure at 110/50 (got commended for this by my MD the other day).
Now, I’ve noticed that my strength is starting to plateau, as is my body transformation, so my Q is, should I just continue steadfast on this same path, or am I ready switch it up a bit? I have a few ideas in mind about tweaking certain things (i.e routine, diet, & supps), but would rather hear unbiased opinions of what to do, from others, first.
