My quest to 200

For the past 10 years I have loomed around 240 pounds. Well the time has come to lower that to 220. Then once that milestone has been reached, go for 200. So in order for this to happen I have resolved to do the following:

1. No more Mountain Dew (or any soda for that matter)


2. Eat breakfast, medium lunch, light dinner (no eating after dinner)


3. No deserts


4. More fruit


5. Drink lots of water


6. Bike with Cathi in the evenings (5 days a week)


7. Play more intense table tennis


8. I will add more techniques to this list as time goes on

I'm hoping that I can be down to 220 by September, and then 200 by Christmas. I'll update how things go.

Mixing things up with Chest workout

Incline Bench: 3 x 8 x 135, 2 x 8 x 155
DB Flys: 6 x 65
Static Hold Pushups: 5 x 3 @10 seconds, rest 5 seconds between reps

Today I had a major lack of motivation and decided to at least mix things up so I'm not killing myself, yet doing something different to trigger different muscles. The Static Hold Pushups were great. I was shaking all over and I was holding my body just a couple inches off the ground so that my arms were at 90 Degree angles. Hold that for 10 seconds and then drop for 5. Doing that three times.

Tris

Tricep Cable Pulldowns: 2 x 8 x 70, 2 x 15 x 50, 2 x 15 x 60
Cross Face Tricep Press: 6 x 8 x 30
Dips: 2 x 10 x bw, 2 x 10 x bw +25
50 Crunches

Table Tennis Drills with David To.

Here is video sample of today's dips.

Back

Cable Pulldowns: 20 x 60, 15 x 100, 8 x 140, 6 x 180, 4 x 200
Midrack Pulls: 12 x 135, 8 x 225, 8 x 315, 6 x 405, 4 x 480

Had to leave early to keep my break short. Need to leave early today from work to work on the Playland. Which is also why you see no lifting on Monday. I honestly thought I was going to be extremely sore on Tuesday as a result of tilling the garden and working on the playland, but I wasn't. The top parts of my forearms are a little, but not much. That was it. Very surprising.

Here is video sample of the two last sets of midrack pulls.

Bench

Today I didn't want to mess my shoulders up again, but wanted something a little more heavy. Put in the "spotter" hooks a little too high. It was just above my chest so it was touching the spot instead of my chest which was annoying.

Bench: 8 x 225, 1 x 315 (shirted), 4 x 315 (shirted), 2 x 335 (shirted), 3 x 335 (shirted), 12 x 225 (3 x 2 high and 3 x 2 low alternating), 12 x 225 pinky inside ring, 12 x 135 slow
Cable Press Machine (Outside part of press only): 50 x 60, 25 x 120, 13 x 240
Inside half: 13 x 240, 25 x 120, 50 x 60
DB Flys: 4 x 8 x 45

Here is a sample video.

Felt OK about this workout, but wish I could have another 30 minutes or so. Only can do so much during lunch.

Upper back workout

My forearm is sore still from Monday's Biceps workout. According to this page it is the Pronator Teres Muscle to be specific. It is sore in the muscle on the inside of my forearm just as it comes from the tendon from the inside of my elbow. It doesn't hurt, its a good sore.

Today's workout went better than expected. I went in late, without a real plan and didn't have a whole lot of motivation.

Deadlifts: 5 x 225, 4 x 275, 4 x 315, 3 x 335, 1 x 355
Crunches: 6 x 50
Bent Over DB Rows: 5 x 8 x 65

Here is a video sample.

Decent Biceps burn

Today I was lacking motivation, but did manage to get my lazy butt into the gym. I did light/high reps biceps:

Armblaster Curls: 5 x 12 x 75
Preacher Curls: 5 x 12 x 75
Alternating DB Curls: 5 x 12 x 35

Heavy Bench with Blocks

Need to take my six block and turn it into three. Four blocks is too much and two is not enough. Got an email from Critical Bench that discusses the difference between what I call "White meat" and "Dark meat". Need more white meat in the chest. Don't care about appearance, just strength. I wouldn't really consider myself a powerlifter. Kind of a mix between strength and looks. Would like better slow twitch in biceps and fast twitch in chest. Anyhow here is today's workout:

Bench (4 blocks): 8 x 225, 5 x 275, 4 x 315, 4 x 335, 4 x 355
Incline DB Press: 10 x 65, 10 x 65 (with chains), 15 x 65
DB Flys: 3 x 4 x 65
Captains Chairs: 7 x 15

Need heavier DB's. 65 is as heavy as we have. Too light for doing low reps. Too cheap to buy heavier ones. Need to check out the new Rec center in Bountiful.

Here is a sample of today's lifts.

Deadlift

Today I wanted to do some heavy sets of dead, but didn't feel my form was good enough so I went lighter and tried to focus on form.

Deadlifts: 6 x 276, 3 x 315, 9 x 225, 10 x 135
Seated Cable Pulls: 8 x 170, 3 x 8 x 200
Front Cable Pulldowns: 8 x 120, 8 x 160, 2 x 8 x 170

Here is a sample of today's workout.

Played Table Tennis afterwards for a few minutes. Played pretty well.

Fairly good table tennis day at lunch

This morning I got up at 4:40 am so I didn't plan on lifting cause last Tuesday when I got up early and then tried to lift it wasn't great. I plan on lifting at the very least MWF but preferrably MWTHF. Today I played table tennis. I lost twice to Gyan(@6W/2L) and three times to Bala(3W/3L). My problem with the majority of shots that I missed was that I hit too early. Same mistake that Austin often makes. Need to wait for the ball to come to me. If the ball is too high, I need to scoot back and hit it at the lower end of the arch and where it's closer to my natural swing. Looking forward to this Friday.

Tomorrow Deads and Back.

Shoulders

Today I had good motivation so I had a good workout:

Lateral Raises: 8 x 40, 6 x 45, 4 x 50, 4 x 55, 2 x 60
Crunches: 10 x 25
Overhead Presses: 4 x 8 x 135
Upright Rows: 10 x 95, 8 x 115, 8 x 125, 6 x 135
Pull Ups: 2 x 3 x bw
Stretching: 2 minutes
Jason Paris' Overhead One-arm Press: 2 x 8 x 45

The Overhead Presses (not the correct name) are done by alternating between in front and behind the neck for each repetition and you lift up enough to clear the head. I saw these on Kris' Behind the Bar blog (which is down now). I was researching what the proper name of that exercise is when I found this interesting article. No wonder I had that shoulder injury a long time ago when I was doing bench press. I should have read this article a while ago! He makes several good points about how to aboid injuries by doing these exercises right!

I was relieved to see the correct description of Lateral Raises. When I do them in the mirror, I'm afraid I'm not doing them right when I bend my elbows, but that appears to be the correct way. I must admit though that I did too much weight today as I cheated quite a bit and used momentum on a few sets.

Today was a great workout considering the lack of motivation and strength lately. Goal is to do Deads/Back on Wednesday.

Bench

Bench: 4 x 8 x 225
Bench with Chains: 2 x 8 x 255 (w @ 30 pounds of chains)
Crunches: 2 x 25
4 count Flutter Kicks: 2 x 25

I had planned on much more, but I started on some Stump Hanging Presses and the weight (@295) was way too heavy and I wasn't feeling very motivated so I stopped. Got up this morning at 4:50 and didn't have much energy at all. Need to have Tuesdays as an off day if I continue to get up on Tuesdays this early.

Deadlift Week 2

Fashioned after Jon's Deadlift Week 2 workout:

Deadlifts: 5 x 10 x 225
Bent over Rows: 5 x 5 x 160
Hammer Grip Rope Cable Pulldowns: 8 x 60, 8 x 70, 8 x 80
DB Lateral Raises: 8 x 40, 6 x 45, 6 x 50
Captain's Chairs: 5 x 10
Crunches: 5 x 50

Was getting light headed after each of the Deadlift sets. I was making sure to breathe each rep, maybe I was breathing too much and hyperventilating. Wasn't fun getting dizzy. Ab work felt good - burn. Didn't plan on Lateral Raises, but was feeling good at the end.

Week 1 Legs

Light Squats: 8 x 135, 155, 185
Cable Leg Press: 20 x 140, 2 x 8 x 220

I knew this would be all it would take to make me sore so I quit there. Legs have been grossly neglected. Hoping to change that.

Mirroring Jon's Bench 1 w/ near beheading

Today I tried to do everything Jon did in his Bench 1 workout:

Bench: 5 x 5 x 265
4 Board: 5 x 275 (nearly lost my head here), 5 x 295 (only have 2,4,6 boards)
Incline: 4 x 215, 2 x 8 x 175
DB Press: 6 x 65, 2 x 8 x 65 (+ 25 DB hanging)
Abs: 7 x 25 crunches

The fives of 265 were tough. My Rhomboid's are sore (had to look that up) from yesterday's pulling.

What happened though today that has never happened to me before which completely freaked me out is that I nearly took my head off with a careless attitude with the weight. On the first set of 4 boards the five @ 275 was easy (thanks to the four boards) and when I went to rack the weight I hooked the left side and didn't on the right and the right side started to come down on me. The bar was above my board so it was coming down fast and would have missed the boards. My adrenaline kicked in like lightning I think and I was able to stop the weight and then take it back up. It only came down about halfway. Scared the crud out of me. I've got to be more respectful of the weight and take the racking seriously! Al qaeda could have posted a link to my blog had I taken video of my own beheading!

I totally respect Jon for his Inclines. I wasn't able to get the 215's. I moved the weight down to 175 and did 8 instead. I also do not have 85# DB in the Tomax gym so I strapped the 65 and the 25 DB's together with some old knee wraps which made it so that at full extension on the press the 25 barely came off the ground.

Good workout today.

First day back

I've noticed that my "self-image" has suffered as a result of not lifting the past few weeks. I thought that transitioning my priorities to table tennis would be a good move. It has helped my game I think to play more, but my confidence on the other hand has dropped as I haven't lifted at all. While I do enjoy table tennis, I think I need to keep lifting at the top of my extracurricular activities.

Today was my first day back and I knew it would be tough so I started out easy:

Deadlifts: 5 x 8 x 225
Captains Chairs: 5 x 10
Close Grip Cable Rows: 3 x 10 x 180
Crunches: 3 x 50

Motivation wasn't great today. My hands have definitely grown soft in the past three weeks. My hands took a beating today. Went and saw the Dr. last week and my suspected nasal infection turns out to be just hayfever. Congestion really is affecting my sleep when I can't breathe at all through my nose. I hope the Allegra prescription does the job!

Got kicked around for the first time in a LONG time

Today at lunch I played coworker Gyanendra Hyoju. He played very well today and smart. He won more matches than I did today. His placement of the ball today was very well selected and forced alot of errors as well as made very aggressive shots himself that were difficult to return. If he plays like this everyday, then I should improve much faster than I have been.

I haven't been schooled like that since Bala used to play. Hoping that it continues. I don't mind losing as long as it isn't due to crappy shots I make, but rather from smart and aggressive play from the opponent. Which was the case today.

First Place at Chinese New Year Table Tennis Tournament

On Saturday, Feb 17th I took the family up to Evanston Wyoming for the 2007 Chinese New Year Table Tennis Tournament. I forgot how long it takes to get through the tournament. Cathi was exceptionally patient. We started out with Austin and I as a doubles team. Jacob found a partner, Braxton who was very patient and a good sport.

Austin and I played Paul and Javza. Paul is from Rock Springs, WY, and Javza a BYU student. Austin and I played quite well together and I think we shocked the two of them. We barely lost 2 - 3 with many of the games very close and the last game being a deuce game. The next game we played Aaron and Mike Pratt. We lost 0 - 3 and not so happy about those games. Aaron likes slow play with lots of spin and that messed with Austin a bit. And my friend and nemesis Mike Pratt played his typical game. So the doubles went quick for us. Jacob had a quick double loss too.

After that I played a guy in the qualifying round and lost 2-3 and then won another guy which put me in the B division. There were four divisions (C, B, A and Open)

In the B Division I played 4 people (8 people total in the bracket). The games of note were when I played Varghese Pallathu. I've seen him at the club many times and noticed his game. He is a good player, and I knew it would be tough to beat him. I lost the first two to him. I didn't enjoy the pace we were playing so I picked it up. I would set him up with a chop and come back with a forehand smash. This strategy worked fantastic with him and I was able to win the next three games for the match. Many of those points were "tickers" or net shots which are quite frustrating for the opponent. I've been in that situation and knew how frustrating it can be to be so close to victory and missing it. In that situation it is hard to not get violent.

I then played Justin and lost to him 0 - 3. That was puzzling because in the last tournament in SLC I beat him in the qualifying rounds 3-0. He has really improved. The next game I had to play Varghese again since he lost to somebody and we were both in the losers bracket. This time I played the same way I did the last few sets with him and won 3-0. That win put me at #2 in the division.

I had to play Justin again. This time if I beat him two matches in a row I could win the division. Worst case scenario is I take second. So the pressure was off a litle. I played hard and found that when Cathi watched, or Ryan Gubler watched our match I played better. I won the first match 3-0 and I heard Justin say "Times have changed!". So I had to simply beat him one more time for first place. The second match I won 3-1. Ended at @8:00 and it was a long day, but I felt very good about today's tournament and got a 1st place plaque.

I am grateful for the family being patient staying so long. I promised them we would go swimming but I forgot the pool closed at 4:30 so we missed the chance. I was especially impressed with the facility's staff. They were patient with the kids running everywhere and shared the tournament food with them. The tournament director's we well organized and kept things moving. Overall a fun experience and a great day although it was quite long.

Pictures (Sorry about the quality, the flash wasn't very energetic):

Bad luck

I was looking forward to a great day today with the virtual meet. I bought a newspaper, made sure I had new batteries, proper lifting attire etc...

I even bought a new HP Photosmart M425 a couple weeks ago knowing that I needed a digital video camera for the meet (since misplacing the one we had). I used the 1 GB SD card from my old mp3 player. I formated the card first and then used the camera the past couple of weeks to get used to it. Everything was falling into place and working great.

I started out videoing the newspaper, then the weights, then the first two Squat attempts. I reviewed both attempts immediately afterwards and they both looked good (275, 315). I went upstairs to fetch Cameron and Justin to spot me on my last squat attempt of 345. They had to help about halfway up on it. I was disappointed, but knew it would be extremely difficult to get considering I haven't worked legs at all in the past 3 months or so.

I reviewed the last attempt to see where the lift broke down. It started to play back on the camera. About 10 seconds into the video the screen went bright red and said something like "CARD HAS WRONG FORMAT Press OK to format card". I tried not to panic, but didn't feel good about that message. I ran upstairs and tried to see if I could recover what was on the SD card.

I kept getting: "The disk in Drive E is not formatted: Do you want to format it now?"

I hit NO and tried looking at the properties on the drive - nothing worked. I figured, OK well I'll just DQ my Squat and do the other lifts. I tried formatting the SD card and that wouldn't even work. I got "There is no disk in Drive E. Insert a disk, and then try again.". I tried phsyically tweaking the card to get any life out of it, but no go. The card is simply lifeless. So I was completely out of luck with this meet. The internal memory in the camera wouldn't even come close to being sufficient.

I figured I'd do the other lifts just for fun to see what I could do without the video and ended up with 345 on the bench and 315 on the DL (365 DL attempt failed).

I am very disappointed. I was hoping to at least submit something, but the only thing that could have made the day crappier I guess is that I could have seriously injured myself which I didn't do so I should count my blessings. Sorry fellow lifters. I hope your hardware works better than mine and that you have successful lifts. I'll be there next time with a new SD card and better prepared physically as well.

Taking it easy

Just playing table tennis this week to allow my body to prepare for the virtual meet this Friday. Kris has really outdone himself on it and it looks great. If you haven't already checked it out, please do so at http://www.virtualmeet.net. This weekend I have had some major stiffness in my neck/upper shoulders on the right side. Still not 100% but hoping that the rest will do some good for it. I'm actually feeling extremely guilty taking the time this week off.

My attempts for the meet will be (unless I don't make a lift in which I'll change it of course):

Squat: 285, 315, 345
Bench: 350, 360, 370
Deadlift: 365, 375, 385

Total: 1000 (455 kg), 1050 (477 kg), 1100 (500 kg)

I will be totally surprised if I get the 1100, but will be happy with the 1050.