I’ve been mostly watching, reading, and learning from you all since joining a few weeks ago. This is an amazing forum with tremendous talent and intellectual resources on training, bodybuilding, nutrition, and even endocrinology! Thank you for letting me join!
Having enjoyed reading all the supplement/training logs since joining, I’ve decided to log my workouts for the next month while using BLRs Vector and Follidrone and asking for feedback from AM members. I’m providing a lot of detailed information in my introductory log to help others who might be working to lose weight and gain muscle. I hope to learn from the vast amount of experience everyone on this forum has with training and nutrition.
I’m a big fan of sharing ideas with the goal of seeking and providing constructive criticism to help us all learn more.
My bias is that nutrition is the foundation of effective fitness programs. So you’ll notice that I emphasize nutrition in addition to training in my “maiden” log post.
My Goals: Build general functional fitness and strength through aerobic and anaerobic exercise, 10-12% body fat (currently ~13% body fat).
Background:
Age: 61 years old
Height: 6’ tall
Weight: 188-193 lbs.
Weight training history: Power lifter ages 14-23. Max Bench Press, 300 lbs. x 1, Body weight was 215 lbs.
Kept fit ages 24-40 playing basketball 3 nights a week until blew out right knee. Quit working out at age 40 and ballooned from 220lbs to 290lbs.
Desk job, ages 27-61. Focused on professional career, ignored fitness from age 40 until age 59. I became insulin insensitive, had high blood pressure, drank too much alcohol, ate too much processed foods (think McDonalds and packaged foods). Suffered with 6 point hip bursitis. Every step was painful (9 on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being totally functionally incapacitated) Tired and low libido. Felt like **** all the time. Made a decision to get fit or die trying.
Lost 60 lbs in 4 months (June-October 2016) with Keto diet at 800-1,000 calories per day. Went from 257lbs to 197 lbs. Experienced much higher energy level, minimal pain from hip bursitis (1 to 2 on a scale of 10), and higher libido. Began lifting weights in December 2016. Before lifting weights, arms looked like sausages, legs were strong and defined—especially quadriceps—from carrying so much weight over 20+ years. Continued lifting weights over the next 17 months to build muscle definition and strengthen connective tissue (tendons, ligaments, etc.). I recently did a 7 week Keto diet from May-June 2018 with two refeed and weightlifting weekends. Lost 10 lbs from roughly 200 to 190lbs (~3lbs muscle and 7 lbs fat). I never felt more fit in my life as I do right now, even including my college football days from age 18-23 when I weighed 215lbs. I am even able to sprint faster than I remember (until a hamstring pull
)! Here are a few stats from over the past few years.
Maximum adult body weight: 290 lbs. (age 55)
Minimum adult body weight: 188 lbs. (age 61)
Maximum Measured Body Fat Percentage: 35%; 90lbs body fat (Age 59, 257 lbs.)
Minimum Measured Body Fat Percentage: 13%; 25.5lbs body fat (Age 61, 191 lbs.)
Current Nutrition: Mostly whole foods, Minimum ingestion of processed foods. 1-2 glasses of red wine (6oz servings) per week. No other alcohol.
Macro nutrient goals: 35% protein, 40% fats, 25% carbohydrates
Nutrition Calorie Goal: 2300-2400 per day
Measured Basal Metabolic Rate: 1,900 calories
Routine Meals
Breakfast: 3-4 eggs, 2-4 pieces of bacon, 1 cup fresh blueberries, 2 roasted jalapeño chile peppers.
Lunch: 8oz grilled organic chicken or 93% lean pasture raised hamburger (slathered in old style mustard w/ seeds), 2 cups steamed spinach, 1 cup fresh raspberries, 2 roasted North Carolina or jalapeño or Hatch hot green or habernero chile peppers.
Dinners: 8oz Atlantic wild Codfish, wild salmon, sea scallops, or medium shrimp; 2 cups celery, 2 cucumbers, 2 roasted North Carolina or jalapeño or Hatch hot green or habernero chile peppers.
Snacks/Protein Supplements: Cashews, Almonds, Walnuts, fresh raspberries, Mt Athos olives with garlic cloves, Siggis plain yogurt, fresh blueberries, MuscleFeast Powdered Protein, and low-fat Muscle Milk 20g, 100 calories, and 32g, 160 calories, protein shake (on-the-go protein supplement), and Quest bars (for the 14g of fiber, 20g of protein, and 200-400mg of potassium).
Daily Vitamins/supplements: AST Multi-Pro 32x multivitamin (morning), 1300mg CLA x 3 with meals, 1000mg x 3 HMB with meals, Cal-Mag-Zinc (100%/125%/167%), 2200 IU Vitamin D3, 900mg omega-3 fish oil in the morning, 200mg x 2 Potassium, 500mg lysine, 100mg nicotinamine, 1,500 mg ashwagandha powder, 2g Cissus Quadrangularis, 50mg glutathione, 100mg milk thistle, 500mg carnitine, 100mg theonine, Prime Labs Prime Test Booster, 610mg fenugreek, 2g turmeric curcumin, 800mg quercetin and 165mg bromelain, 1g arginine, 365 Age 50+ Multivitamin no-iron w/boron (bedtime).
I drink 120oz - 140oz of water each day.
I have also done a health genetic risk analysis identifying substantially high risk (7x) for thromboembolism. (blood clot forma in the leg and travels to the lungs or brain). It’s not scary as long as I stay fit and remember to get up and walk around for 5-10 min every hour or so. I avoid air travel longer than 2 hours.
Current Injuries (Young guys-pay attention to what you have to look forward to as you age!
): Nursing a pulled hamstring (was sprinting with my training partner; quads are much stronger than hamstrings and hamstring couldn’t take the stress and popped) from 2 weeks ago currently limiting deadlift, squat, and leg press activities. Chronic bursitis, fasciitis, and arthritis pain in shoulders limiting shoulder training. I treat painful injuries with OTC CVS capsaicin roll-on before training. Capsaicin is the compound that makes chile peppers hot.
Training Plan (resistance):
Sunday, Tuesdays, and Thursday’s are triceps, chest, shoulder, and posterior chain (deadlift) days. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are biceps, lats, and leg (quads and hamstrings) days. Saturdays are rest days. Core work is every day (plank variations, Russian twists, Romanian crunches, and other assorted core exercises). At my age, I don’t do 1 rep maximums. I do reps and weights that don’t hurt my joints and connective tissue.
Training Plan: Aerobic training.
Minimum 10,000 steps per day (~4.5 miles).
July 1, 2018 (first day back since ending Keto diet so it’s a light workout)
9am
Pre-workout: GNC Beyond Raw Lit “Spiced Cider” flavor w/ 20oz of water, 2 tablespoons of Braggs apple cider vinegar, and 1/2 tablespoon of ashagwandha.
3 capsules Vector
2 capsules Follidrone
Camel tobacco snus pouch
9am-11am
~13,500 steps (~6 miles) and 40 incline push-ups; 85 degrees Fahrenheit.
11am
Controlled Labs Purple Wrath Intraworkout powder with 20oz water; 2 scoops.
11:15am
Controlled Labs White Rapids Pre-workout powder with 20oz water; 2 scoops.
11:15am-12:15am
DB hammer grip twist bench press (180 sec rest between sets)
60# x 3 x 8
DB triceps kickbacks - left arm and right arm (30 sec rest between sets)
22.5# x 1 x 12 (L & R)
20# x 1 x 12
20# x 1 x 10
Overhead one arm cable tricep extensions (30 sec rest between sets)
12.5# x 1 x 12
12.5# x 1 x 10
12.5# x 1 x 8
EZ bar close grip curls
60# x 1 x 12
Seated dips (30 sec rest between sets)
140# x 1 x 10
140# x 1 x 12
160# x 1 x 12
EZ bar deadlifts (30 sec rest between sets)
90# x 3 x 12
Overhead rope cable tricep extensions
27.5# x 1 x 12
Incline plank
60 sec x 2
Big ball bridges (light hamstring workout)
2 legs (30 sec rest between sets)
2 x 10
1 leg ( each leg)
1 x 6
Romanian crunches
1 x 40
Elbow plank
1 x 60 sec
This workout is after my first day and first dose of Vector/Follidrone. It was a great day! I felt focused and strong! But I’m not sure if that was because it was my first day after my Keto diet or from Vector/Follidrone. With all the good reports from other loggers on this stack, I am expecting to notice some benefits in about a week or two. My previous max dumbbell hammer grip twist bench press maximum is 70# x 6. If I can get to 75# x 6 in a month, I’ll be a true believer in Vector/Follidrone. I struggled for 6 months to get from 65# to 70# because of weak forearms/control. As the log shows, I’m currently at 3 sets of 60# x 8 with relative ease. I should be back at 70# x 6 in a week or so. I’m gonna work this one!
Thank you all in advance for your support!
Humble
I’m retiring next year and need something to do that keeps me fit. This seems like a good way to do that. 
)! Here are a few stats from over the past few years.
