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Sponge's Workout Log

SpongeTom

Member
Sponge's Workout Log

About Me
Hi all! Welcome to my log. I've recently returned to the gym and thought I'd take the opportunity to properly log what I was doing in a public domain, rather than my old method of using spreadsheets.

A bit about me... I am a 30 yo male from Australia. I started going to the gym back in Uni. I never really made much progress at all, I started around 75kg (165lbs), and never really got anywhere further. I would get routines from magazines, or PTs, or off some terrible websites. Training was inconsistent, but all in all it was a case of something is better than nothing. The only other physical activity I was really doing was indoor soccer and partying :P

I took a couple of years off, with some failed starts in between. I started a new job with my best mate and we decided to start going to the gym. We started with a PT, it was all a pretty average experience. Then one day our company moved office, so we were forced to change gym and leave the PT behind... which was a blessing really. From this point things really improved gym wise. We had a couple more people at work get into it with us - they didnt all work out with us, but we would talk and chat about it all day at work. We did heaps of reading and research. Initially we found Starting Strength (I guess this was a tad before it really took off on mainstream sites like bb.com and what not). I started getting a lot stronger and putting on weight, something I had never really done. Over the course of ~2-3 years we did this. Over that time we ran Starting Strength, Texas Method, Ed Cowns deadlift routine, a bit of Crossfit, and a few other strength bias type routines. I learnt how to do cleans and snatches and generally had a lot of fun. No real focus on bodybuilding style of training. This type of training was hard, but I really responded to it. I went from about 75kg to floating between 85-90kg (187-198lbs). I wasn't super lean, but for the first time ever I had muscles and was strong.

At some point after this our training kinda slowed. I think getting up at 5am 3 times a week over 2-3 years was taking its toll. I got a new job (same company) that required quite a bit of travel. Over the course of the next 3 years the work guys and I tried to start up again a few times. We would get some runs of a month or 2, then things would fall apart... and my work travel didn't help. In hind sight I probably could have made things work better with the travel, but I used it as an excuse really.

Fast forward to now, I have another new job - with a different company - that still requires travel. One of the big world wide 24/7 chain gyms opened near my house with a great membership price. My fiancée and I decided it was a great chance to rejoin a gym and get back into it. The benefit is, these gyms are all over the globe, so long as I book my hotels in a reasonable place I have no excuse!

Goals
- Regain strength. I'd like to get strong again, perhaps not to the extreme I was once trying to achieve.
- Trim down and put on some muscle, Recomp? The usual thing :D
- General health. The last couple of years I've been getting sick far too frequently, I want to change that.
- Sort out my Asthma if I can. I've never really done cardio work before, so will add that in a bit.

Training Type
- For the first couple of weeks as my body gets used to things again, I am going to be a little random. It will be loosely based around Starting Strength, but not really. The goal here is just to get back in, get through that initial pain of returning to the gym, and enjoy it again.
- After that, I am still evaluating some routines. Maybe something like the Juggernaut method or 5/3/1 or something similar.

Also bought a bike to ride to and from the gym. ~5-6km ride round trip. Not huge, but a good warm up.

Training Frequency
3-4 times a week. Probably 3 days of weights, 1 day of cardio, will adjust as I go.

Current Stats
90kg (198lbs)
5'11"
BF% unknown... I'm not fat, but I am starting to get a little bit of a tummy, and I've never really seen abs in my life.

Nutrition
I am the first to admit that it isn't perfect, and a definitely have a sweet tooth. I am in the process of trying to rectify this. Just a general clean up of the diet, smarter choices, and a reduction of sugar intake. I think I am on the right path, but not there yet. Mainly sticking to meat and veg as the staples.

Supplements
I love reading up on Supplements and trying different ones out back in the day, so even in the early stages of my "come back" I will try some stuff out... just general interest :D
Staples
- Fish Oil - I really need this, otherwise I find my joints hurt.
- Vitamin D
- ALCAR - read so many good things about it. Taking 1.4g daily.
- Magnesium - mainly because I have a bottle of it at home and dont want it to go to waste.
- Protein - Got a couple of bags of bulk Whey at home.
- Creatine - Need to get some. I know mono is good, but it used to make me bloat and pee every 15mins. Might try something else.

Things I have at home and will run at some point. Some of this stuff I bought with the ambition of workout out properly again (yeah I know, kinda stupid).
- X-Factor - picked it up on the New Years sale.
- Agmatine 500
- Anabeta - have a bottle at home from early last year that I never used.
- Alphamine - the US version. Bought it while I was in the US last year. Can't get this version in Aus, so until I head back to the US (later in the year) this is kind of like a prized possession :P

There's a heap of other things I want to try too :) After this initial reintroduction is complete, I will run X-Factor and all the good stuff for that.

Other
In the post below I will detail and change what my Workout Routine and Supplements look like at any point.

All weights specified in KG unless specified.
 
18th March 2014

All weights in kg. I am starting pretty low on the weights. Don't want to risk an injury in my first week for the sake of ego.
I am copy/pasting out of my FitNotes app... so the look is Exercise Weight(kg) Reps.

Barbell Squat 20 5
Barbell Squat 40 5
Barbell Squat 50 5
Barbell Squat 50 5
Barbell Squat 50 5
Flat Dumbbell Bench Press 12.5 5
Flat Dumbbell Bench Press 16 5
Flat Dumbbell Bench Press 16 5
Flat Dumbbell Bench Press 16 5
Barbell Row 20 5
Barbell Row 40 5
Barbell Row 40 5
Barbell Row 40 5
Pull Up (assisted) 54 5
Pull Up (assisted) 40 5
Pull Up (assisted) 40 5
Pull Up (assisted) 40 5
Barbell Curl 12.5 8
Barbell Curl 12.5 8
Barbell Curl 12.5 8
Hanging Knee Raise 0 8
Hanging Knee Raise 0 8
Hanging Knee Raise 0 8
 
19th March 2014

Deadlift 60 5
Deadlift 60 5
Deadlift 80 5
Parallel Bar Triceps Dip 40 8
Parallel Bar Triceps Dip 33 8
Parallel Bar Triceps Dip 26 8
Overhead Press 10 5
Overhead Press 20 5
Overhead Press 20 5
Overhead Press 20 5
Hanging Knee Raise 0 8
Hanging Knee Raise 0 8
Hanging Knee Raise 0 8
 
22nd March 2014


Barbell Squat 20 5
Barbell Squat 20 5
Barbell Squat 40 5
Barbell Squat 60 5
Barbell Squat 60 5
Barbell Squat 60 5
Barbell Squat 80 3
Flat Dumbbell Bench Press 12.5 8
Flat Dumbbell Bench Press 20 5
Flat Dumbbell Bench Press 20 5
Flat Dumbbell Bench Press 20 5
Barbell Row 20 10
Barbell Row 45 5
Barbell Row 45 5
Barbell Row 45 5
Barbell Curl 15 8
Barbell Curl 15 8
Barbell Curl 15 8
Dumbbell Overhead Triceps Extension 15 8
Dumbbell Overhead Triceps Extension 15 8
Dumbbell Overhead Triceps Extension 15 8
Hanging Knee Raise 0 8
Hanging Knee Raise 0 8
Hanging Knee Raise 0 8
 
23rd March 2014

This was just a misc type of session. Went in and did about 30mins on the elliptical and then did some spare parts type of training.

Overhead Press 12.5 5
Overhead Press 12.5 8
Overhead Press 12.5 8
Overhead Press 12.5 8
Shoulder Press Machine 10 8
Shoulder Press Machine 15 5
Shoulder Press Machine 20 5
Shoulder Press Machine 20 5
Shoulder Press Machine 20 5
Seated Row Machine 19 20
Seated Row Machine 26 10
Seated Row Machine 26 10
Seated Row Machine 26 10
Seated Machine Curl 10 8
Seated Machine Curl 25 8
Seated Machine Curl 25 8
Seated Machine Curl 25 8
 
Tuesday 25th March, 2014

Took 2 caps of Anabeta before working out. Was feeling a little average during the workout, so kept it short and sweet. Felt good to do something. I was on the phone all day with work, and had tradesmen over installing air con, so didnt really eat well during the day. Just a lot of fruit and nuts, and some left over baked chicken and veg for lunch.
Had a lean pork loin steak and veg for dinner.

I wanted to do a triple on the squats at 85kg and then a single at 100kg, but as I said felt really off.

Workout (weight in kg followed by reps)
Barbell Squat Legs 20 8
Barbell Squat Legs 40 5
Barbell Squat Legs 60 3
Barbell Squat Legs 70 5
Barbell Squat Legs 70 5
Barbell Squat Legs 70 5
Flat Dumbbell Bench Press Chest 12.5 10
Flat Dumbbell Bench Press Chest 16 5
Flat Dumbbell Bench Press Chest 20 5
Flat Dumbbell Bench Press Chest 20 5
Flat Dumbbell Bench Press Chest 22 5
Chin Up (assisted) Back 33 6
Chin Up Back 33 6
Chin Up Back 33 6
Barbell Row Back 20 8
Barbell Row Back 40 5
Barbell Row Back 50 5
Barbell Row Back 50 5
 
29th March, 2014

Pulled a single for 120kg. Not exactly what I used to pull, but as I am slowly getting back into things it felt good. Grip was a touch off though.

Deadlift Back 40 5
Deadlift Back 60 5
Deadlift Back 80 5
Deadlift Back 100 5
Deadlift Back 120 1
Parallel Bar Triceps Dip Triceps 45 8
Parallel Bar Triceps Dip Triceps 32.5 8
Parallel Bar Triceps Dip Triceps 26 8
Parallel Bar Triceps Dip Triceps 26 8
Parallel Bar Triceps Dip Triceps 26 8
Overhead Press Shoulders 20 5
Overhead Press Shoulders 30 5
Overhead Press Shoulders 30 5
Overhead Press Shoulders 30 5
Dumbbell Hammer Curl Biceps 12 8
Dumbbell Hammer Curl Biceps 12 8
Dumbbell Hammer Curl Biceps 12 8
 
30th March, 2014

Was a touch sore from the Deads the day before, so didn't do any squats.
I did go on the elliptical for about half an hour and did 3km. Again, I know it doesn't sound like much, but for me doing ANY cardio is a big deal :)

Smith Machine Close Grip Bench Press Triceps 0 10
Smith Machine Close Grip Bench Press Triceps 20 10
Smith Machine Close Grip Bench Press Triceps 20 10
Smith Machine Close Grip Bench Press Triceps 20 10
Smith Machine Close Grip Bench Press Triceps 20 10
Smith Machine Close Grip Bench Press Triceps 20 10
Shoulder Press Machine Shoulders 10 10
Shoulder Press Machine Shoulders 15 10
Shoulder Press Machine Shoulders 15 10
Shoulder Press Machine Shoulders 15 10
Barbell Curl Biceps 10 10
Barbell Curl Biceps 15 10
Barbell Curl Biceps 15 10
Barbell Curl Biceps 15 10
Barbell Curl Biceps 15 10
Hanging Knee Raise Abs 0 8
Hanging Knee Raise Abs 0 8
Hanging Knee Raise Abs 0 8
Hanging Knee Raise Abs 0 8
Hanging Knee Raise Abs 0 8
 
2nd April, 2014

Haven't been to the gym in a couple of days. Work has been kicking my ass this week, been basically getting up at 6am and working through until 10pm the last few days. Oh well.

Anyway I've been thinking of my plan of attack.
- Continue with what I've been doing for another couple of weeks. So Squats 2x a week, Deads 1x a week, alternating Press and DB Bench, and adding in assistance where I can.
- Try get my squats back up to ~3x5 on 100kg (225lbs).
- Then probably start on boring but big 5/3/1. It seems to have good appeal to me.
- I am looking to drop some body fat, so I understand that my strength gains will suffer initially.

Also received an order from Nutra planet today, so with that and what I already have...
- Alpha T2
- Forskolin 95
- Burn24 (I got this because they were out of Recompadrol).
- GMS
- XFactor original
- CREignite creatine
- 3/4 bottle of Anabeta original - been taking it the last week and a bit, hence the 3/4. Might need to buy more, but if I get Elite I already have the Forskolin. Might get the Original one.
- ALCAR - been taking for the last month or so at 1.5 to 2gm per day
- Agmatine - been taking for a week and a bit

So thinking I will continue taking the Anabeta and order another bottle (or ABE), the ALCAR, the creatine and the Agmatine.
Then once I start boring but big, continue with the above and then add in the rest.

Not sure how this sounds though, so keen on any thoughts! And keen on which Anabeta I buy next considering I have some Forskolin 95 caps now.
 
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