"Bridge the Gap"

[craig]

@Gstacker- Seems like the 5x5 is the tried and true for strength gains. I've had limited time to research but see where your going.

Changing my breakfast up by not getting the bacon and browns. I tried an egg white omelette from the DFAC before and it felt/tasted like rubber but today I will try again. Eating more real food is difficult for me but I will try to adapt.

Thanks for all the help so far!

 

[craig]

My Tuesday was leg day. It went well and I saw massive gains on my working squat sets. My third work set I had a bad start and it messed up my set. What I should of done is just rack the weight, take a breather and start over but for whatever reason I didn't. Not that I crashed to the floor or anything but my form was comprimised. Still a solid day showing real improvement.

Yesterday (Wednesday) was chest and didn't go as well as leg day. Maybe not focusing and concentrating enough in the gym. My workout partner and I stayed for an extended session. We both got a surge of energy about 40 minutes which was a nice change of pace from leaving about 45 minutes deep.

Today is back with some hamstring make ups and testing!

 

[MAYO]

Even POG dfac's have hard-boiled eggs....throw a couple of them in the mix. Those little peanut butter containers make a good snack in the day too.

 

[craig]

Even POG dfac's have hard-boiled eggs....

I burst into laughter when I saw this. My runner looked over with a look of confusion.

 

[craig]

Eating an egg white omlette (pepper mix, onions, tomatoes) in the morning instead of scambled eggs. Adding some boiled egg whites into the mix this week as I continue to try to focus more of my diet on real foods.

No one commented on the salt intake on food but I am also trying to reduce that as well for general health.

This last week went great. I saw progress but feel the need to rest for an extra day and even adjust my split. After I take 2 days off instead of 1 I'll alter my 4/1 to 2 days on, day off, 2 days on, day off, repeat.

The past 2 weeks I have put on 3 pounds which is what I'd like to see consistantly. My weight right now is at 227lbs up from 224lbs.

Today I didn't work out and tomorrow I won't work out. It will be nice to have a legit day off tomorrow. I can't remember the last time a day off fell on a Sunday and I didn't have to work. I'll probably sleep, play Civilization 5, and sit in the DFAC for once and eat!

All in all I couldn't be happier with the progress so far. My goals come closer and closer every work out!

 

[craig]

The past few days I've been trading in shakes for steaks. I haven't seen a change in the gym but I feel better all the time. The morning has gone to an egg white omelette with veggies, 4 hard boiled egg whites(with a little dab of ketchup to keep em down), and potatoes. Last night I was able to go to surf and turf night for the first time in awhile. Munched on a tasty low quality steak and green beans! Mmmm!

 

[AllTheWay]

steaks are way better than shakes

 

[craig]

My weight is up to 229lbs which is a 7lbs increase. This is week 4. Yesterday was legs which went really well. My lifting partner and I decided to increase of work load this week significantly. I lifted my normal heavy amount and he decided he wanted to do some lighter weight with higher rep ranges. He doesn't have the luxury job I have in Iraq. He still conducts platoon PT with running and all sorts of "Army" exercises. His legs are not always as ready to go as mine.

Legs are undoubtedly my strongest day and I really enjoy working them. I have noticed quite a bit of mass addition and overall definition in my quads and glutes especially. The past 2 leg days we have been working in SLDLs and some really light good mornings to get some hammy action in. What kind of gym doesn't have a leg curl machine? Both of us almost puke throughout our leg workout.

I tried NO Explode, 1MR, and Animal Rage this past week. NO Explode takes the cake. I have the bottom of a Jack3d to finish and Superpump MAX should be arriving today. Even if I don't like the Superpump as much as NO Explode its not the end of the world. I just had to get something other than Jack3d. The stuff just doesn't do it for me. I wish I would have listened to my common sense and just got some NO Explode like everyone else. I guess there is a reason why a bunch of people take it!

I am finding it much easier to eat more. Little things like sucking down a thing of peanut butter, hardboiled egg whites, and shit it's Monday!!! Steak and shrimp night!!! Getting used to eating more real food and maybe even increasing my stomach capacity probably had something to do with it.

Today is chest and I'm pumped to see if I'm able to throw more weight on today. I started out my shoulder day this last week with incline bench press. Normally I do DBs on incline so the motion took a set to get used to again. After doing BB incline there is no way I'm going back to DBs on it. DBs might be great for building stabilizers but I felt much more powerful on the BB.

I think I need to add some cardio into my workout regime. Probably in the form of stationary bike as it's easy on my body. Speaking of cardio my friend has this super high speed Garmin watch. It has a GPS tracker built in that tells you how far you have run and a heart rate monitor and everything. His workout is puss mode compared to mine and he said he burned 650 calories during it. It made me think if that is accurate, how many calories could I be burning?

All for now. Hasta luego.

 

[PillarofBalance]

The past few days I've been trading in shakes for steaks. I haven't seen a change in the gym but I feel better all the time. The morning has gone to an egg white omelette with veggies, 4 hard boiled egg whites(with a little dab of ketchup to keep em down), and potatoes. Last night I was able to go to surf and turf night for the first time in awhile. Munched on a tasty low quality steak and green beans! Mmmm!

good move on the ketchup... Keep a stash of condiments and rotate em or just fine what you like. i go thru quite a bit of sweet baby ray's bbq sauce cause I can't stand chicken breasts

 

[PillarofBalance]

I am finding it much easier to eat more. Little things like sucking down a thing of peanut butter, hardboiled egg whites, and shit it's Monday!!! Steak and shrimp night!!! Getting used to eating more real food and maybe even increasing my stomach capacity probably had something to do with it.

Very glad to see this bro... Eating good food every day will do more for your short and long term success than almost anything else. Notice i said almost... +train +sleep

 

[craig]

Leg day yesterday went great! Today was back and it didn't go so well...

Squatting felt really good yesterday. My workout partner decided to once again (for the 2nd week in a row) go a little lighter and focus on his form. My workout weight was 275 lbs. The number of reps per set fluctuated which was odd. I've been noticing it more and more lately. Even if I can only get 4 reps on set say 3, that doesn't mean I'm all but out for the next set. Maybe the next set I'll get 6 and feel pretty good. I'm not sure if it's mental or what but I need to pin it down.

After squat's we moved to leg press. We were both cranking out a decent weight that we had been working with for 2 or 3 weeks. By the 3rd said I spoke up and said lets ramp it up. We put some more on and it seemed like we added a ton. My workout parnter strained something in his neck or something and he could not continue. I walked him .5k back to the chu's and came back to finish but all my intensity was gone. It was shaping up to be one hell of a day and it still was pretty good.

Today I did a lot of deadlifts. I stepped outside my normal rep range and went with significantly higher reps than normal with still heavy weight. When I was almost done working I wanted to see how 315 lbs felt as I got it for 2 reps my previous back day. I got it up no problem but didn't have it in me to keep pulling. Just once this week didn't feel like that big of a dissapointment at the time but feels like it now. I woke up, ate some stuff and went to the gym which is unlike me too. I didn't feel right. All that food and time I have to wake up all day is crucial I think.

 

[bybon]

Use the feeling of dissapointment as fuel to get 315 for reps again.

Just thought I'd give a few tips; I love to see others excel in their goals. With that said, don't be afraid of using sets of single, doubles, and triples. 1-6 reps is absolutely great for strength gaining, at least in my own experience.

In case your wondering on my lift credentials with giving advice, my highest b/s/d was 335, 405x2, and 505. Not much, but enough to allow me to learn about gaining strength..especially when I started with a 65lb bench, lol.