Canky's Quest - Now or Never

This is it, the be all and end all of routines, nutrition programs, journals, etc. for me. I have been bouncing all over the lifting spectrum, changing routines, skipping days, weeks, experimenting with different regimens, sleeping patterns, supplements. This has been going on pretty much since I entered high school, and now I am about to graduate college. I have yet to achieve a goal that I have set for myself. I screw up somehow along the way every time, and hopefully this journal can help me pinpoint where I tend to go astray. I plan on posting here most days in order to keep track of myself and keep myself in line when I start messing up.
 
Okay, quick history/background before I get started on this journal (although I'm sure that I'm going to add on to this as my journal progresses). I have been fascinated with bodybuilding, strength training, and physical self-improvement in general since I was a pre-teen and my dad gave me some old bodybuilding mailing thing he used to get back in the 70s. I had always been a naturally weak kid. From ages 16-18, I had 2 nicknames: "Lanks" and "Bones" because I was pretty much the skinniest possible human being that could possibly exist. People were actually suspicious that my parents weren't feeding me. The truth was, and still is, that I am the hardest gainer that there is out there. I weighed all of 90 pounds freshman year of high school and was very short as well. Let's just say that I gotted KILLED on the football field. I guess striving to get out of that stereotype of "skinny piece of s**t" (which is another great thing people used to call me) is where my fascination really started, but my lack of knowledge/willpower kind of screwed me over in high school. In college I eventually came to major in Exercise Science, and I am about to get my degree in that. I have learned a lot about exercise these past few years, and if anyone ever has any questions, feel free to ask.
 
I started out in college at 6'3 145 pounds. Currently, I am 6'3 190 pounds (about 12% BF). While I am proud of what I have accomplished, being that I am a hardgainer in the first place, I feel that I screwed up too much along the way. My biggest enemy at this point is the weekend. I have a great diet, hit all my workouts, etc. Monday through Thursday, but then it is a battle for me to not go out and just get hammered Thursday night through Saturday. I am genetically predisposed to alcoholism, and once I have that first drink, I have a ton of trouble stopping myself from having 10.

As if drinking alone isn't bad enough, I then go into hangover mode during the day, eating all kinds of filth, usually having my first meal at 1 or 2 in the afternoon. If it wasn't for the pesky villian we call alcohol, I think I would have achieved all of my goals thus far. It is difficult though, because I want to strike a balance between drinking/socializing, and my ultimate goals. I have tried just not going out, but that quickly turns depressing and usually backfires on me. This is a constant battle that I'm sure I will be bringing up in my journal often, especially when the weekend rolls around.

Part of my motivation for starting this journal is the lousy week that I just had. Since last Thursday (March 12), I have averaged 5 hours of sleep, 3-4 meals a day (totalling about 2100-2400 cals), I have worked out just ONCE, and I have drank heavily a staggering 4 times, which is horrible for me considering that I had told myself I would total no more than 6 drinks this past weekend. My final tally: 40 DRINKS! that is over 4200 calories (well over a pound of fat), in just alcohol alone! Not to mention the horrific food that I ate while drunk/hungover. Let see, pizza, 3 double cheeseburgers, a huge bag of combos totaling 950 calories! My lack of willpower really pisses me off. I will be in a constant battle with it in the coming months, especially taking into account the fact that I only have 1.5 months of college left and I really don't want to have regrets about not living it to the fullest. I need to focus on controlling myself when I do go out.

So, anyway that's where I'm at right now. I feel pretty small as a person at this moment considering all of the crap that I've been doing to my body. Oh well, nothing that a good couple of weeks of lifting/eating/sleeping right can't cure!

Well, today's workout went pretty well, nothing special though. I decided that I am going to do a 5-day per week split, looking like this:

Day 1- Chest, Shoulders, Tris (Strength)
Day 2- Back, Bis (Strength)
Day 3- Legs
Day 4- Chest, shoulders, Tris (Hypertrophy)
Day 5- Back, Bis (Hypertrophy)

I think this should be a solid routine to build both size and muscle, as well as keep a steady stream of muscle confusion going on. I only have legs once per week because I am focusing on strength and power with them, and I play pretty hardcore games of pickup basketball 2-3 times per week. I need at least some legs left over for that.

Today I planned on doing the above "Day 1" workout, but I couldn't resist trying my hand at power lifting, so I did 4 sets of Clean and Press, but I still need a lot of work on form there, especially when it comes to keeping my elbows pointing forward when I catch the bar. Anyway, I moved on to dumbell bench press. I did a 5X5 routine with bench, and got all 25 reps in with 75lb dumbells, then burned out with a superset of 35lb dumbell flyes 10 times 30 secs after my last set of bench. Next, I did skullcrushers, starting off at 60lbs plus the curling bar, and increasing 5 lbs each set for a total of 4 sets, burning out with a superset of close-grip bench press immediately after my last set with the weight that was already on the bar. I then finished off with 3 sets of pushups with my feet on a higher platform, moving my hands closer together each set. Then I did Bosu crunches and that's it.

It was a decent workout, but I need to stay consistent so I can increase these damn lifts and add in more exercises.

And here comes the temptation again! It's thursday night, also known as "thirsty thursday" around campus. This wouldn't be so hard for me, but two of my good friends from home are coming up, one of whom I rarely get to see these days. I have a decision to make here, and no matter what it isn't going to be easy. I could stay home completely, which would be great for my workout routine, but would be a bit damaging to my friendships with my three friends (the other friend is my best friend from high school/current roomate). I could go out, but that would hinder my goals badly, at least for the week. I plan on lifting tomorrow morning because I am very busy in the afternoon up until 10pm. My final option, and most likely the one that I am going to try, is to go out with them, and try to keep my drink number to 3 at the most. I RARELY succeed at this, however, and I really can't handle another setback at this point.

It kind of sucks because I was doing pretty good today so far. I have had 4 meals already totalling about 2400 calories, with one meal still to go. I woke up at 6:15AM and have not taken any naps all day, so I figured that I was in for a solid night of sleep and an early morning workout. Now I will probably be up until 2 or 3AM, and I'm going to have to wake up around 10 or 11AM in order to get the 8 hours that I desperately need. One benefit that I can think of is that I will be able to get a 6th meal in tonight and get my calorie total to surpass 3500, which is my goal every day and I would not have achieved it today unless I stayed up till at least 1, and it looks like that's what's gonna happen tonight.

So it isn't all bad. I WAS looking forward to an early morning omelette followed by a possible coffee and a great back and bicep workout, but it looks like it's gonna be one of those late night chicken breast sandwiches followed by a 11AM wake-up call. I just have to make sure that nights like these don't interfere in any way with my true goals.

Hey man, get that sh*t done brother ... but maybe you would benefit from a full body workout better, but diferent strokes for different folks.

nrod9


Hey man, get that sh*t done brother ... but maybe you would benefit from a full body workout better, but diferent strokes for different folks.

I hear you on that, but a problem that I run into is the soreness in my muscles not subsiding before the next workout, because I really like to change things up from week to week, and this seems to throw my body off and increase soreness.
 
Tonight went pretty well in regards to drinking. I had only 2 drinks, it took alot of willpower to nurse just 2 beers over a couple hours, especially when a couple of pretty girls came over and started talking to us. But, I did it and that's what counts. Now to brave the upcoming weekend...

This weekend was somewhat of a mixed bag when it comes to whether it was successful or not. I got my back-bi workout in on Friday, but didn't do legs Saturday as planned. Although I'm kind of dissappointed in myself for that, I knew that eventually I wanted to get my routine on a Monday-Friday schedule, so something had to give. Also, I'm glad that the reason I missed the workout wasn't because of a nasty hangover, as I only had a total of 11 drinks this entire weekend (including Thursday). The two main reasons that I skipped were: 1. I played 3 full-court pickup games for about an hour and a half, which tired my legs pretty good, and 2. I really was hoping to get myself on a Mon-Fri schedule. So that's officially my last mulligan when it comes to hitting the weightroom. NO MORE MISSED WORKOUTS!!!

Okay, time for bed now. I have a 9AM wake-up call tomorrow...

Worked out legs today. Went okay.

Squat - 4 sets: 195X8, 205X6, 215X4, 225X2
Stiff-legged deadlift- 4 sets: 185X10, 195X8, 205X6, 215X4
Calf raises (smith machine)- 4 sets
Bosu ball crunches for abs

My biggest problem during the week is waking up without snoozing for an extra couple hours. I wanted to get up at 9 even though I didn't have class until 1, but instead I woke up at 12! Not good at all. I need to get a solid schedule and STICK TO IT!

Solid workout today. The football team, baseball team, basketball team, and cheerleaders were working out too, which made it crowded, but I found a bench and stuck with it so it was all good. Did strength training:

Bench: 80 lb dumbells (160lbs)- 5X5, burnout 50sX10
Arnold presses: 40X10, 45X7, 50X5
Dips: Multiple sets totalling 45 reps
Bosu ball crunches

Doesn't seem like much, but I'm trying to make it so all soreness is gone before my Thursday workout. I'm thinking about adding more exercises, but I think I will do that during the hypertrophy workouts.

Next week I plan on moving up to 85lb dumbells (5X5). Hopefully I'll be up to 100lbs by the end of April, but that might just be a pipedream.

Oh yea by the way I'm still screwing up when it comes to waking up in the morning. Woke up at 11:45 today when I wanted to get up at 9:15. Really bad. I need to get that straightened out.

I can't seem to get on the 5 day a week schedule that I'm trying to get on. Things keep coming up and I keep reverting back to my 3-day per week model. A few things that are hindering me are: Graduation is only a month away, and I have a ton of things that I still need to finish before I can get out of here, so I am constantly trying to meet with advisors, set things straight, etc. Also, the job that I am supposed to start this week has been pushed back another week because the company isn't opening yet. So that puts me in a major bind for money. I have about 30 dollars left, and I have to make that count toward groceries, gas, graduation fees, etc. I am having trouble making ends meet right now is what I am trying to say I guess. It isn't as bad as it could be, because after all I am still working every muscle on the 3-day a week plan. But there are some things that ARE in my control that I need to work on. The biggest is the sleep issue. It's like a domino effect. I wake up late on Monday, and that in turn makes it difficult to get to bed early because I am not tired enough at night. Then I have an 8AM class on Tuesday, and I went to bed late the night before so I am tired all day. So today after classes I crashed and took a nap from 3-6:15pm, so now I'm not tired again...and the cycle continues. I'm going to attempt to break that cycle tonight by going to bed within the next hour. Hopefully I can fall asleep relatively quickly. I have a test tomorrow at 1pm, so the workout might not happen until the afternoon.

Woke up late yet again today. The is getting pathetic. I set the alarm for 8:45am, and got up at 11:30am. I seriously suck at life in the morning. For some reason there is no better physical feeling in the world for me than hitting that snooze button. I am literally addicted to snoozing and sleeping when I shouldn't be.

Anyway, my workout was okay today.

Pullups (wide-grip) - 10, 6, 5, 4
    *I then did a burnout 45 seconds later on the lat cable pulldown machine, 3 sets, 45 secs rest in between, 130- 8, 115- 8, 100- 10

Standing DB rows: 55lb DBS(110LBS) 2 min rest- 12, 10, 10, 10

Shrugs: 65lb DBs - 15, 12, 12, 10

DB Hammer Curls: 45lb dbs - 8, 5, 5...burnout (30 sec rest between - 30sX10, 25sX8, 20sX10

Bosu Crunches

Hey man...Don't don't too down on yourself....I know I'll lay in bed for a half hour and listen to the beeping of the alarm clock.
Of course....Thats why I put the alarm at the opposite end of the bedroom so I'd have to get up....LOL...Didn't work so well.
But ya just gotta let that stuff go and make the most of it!

Good journal by the way!!!
Keep up the good work!

Current Stack: HDROL,Celltech,Superpump 250, Glutamine,Beta alanine,Whey protein.

bulkingup


Hey man...Don't don't too down on yourself....I know I'll lay in bed for a half hour and listen to the beeping of the alarm clock.
Of course....Thats why I put the alarm at the opposite end of the bedroom so I'd have to get up....LOL...Didn't work so well.
But ya just gotta let that stuff go and make the most of it!

Good journal by the way!!!
Keep up the good work!

Thanks! Yeah, some things that I do get me down and I have to learn to let it go and move forward instead of dwelling on it. There are some changes that I have made since starting this journal that I am somewhat proud of. For one, I have cut my drinking almost in half, doubled my basketball playing (in order to take the focus off of the drinking), and I guess it's still good that I'm hitting the gym 3 times a week, even though I want to hit it 5 times. Actually, today was pretty good for me. I landed a training internship at a hockey training facility, and tonight, while my friends went out drinking, I went home and played 6 solid fullcourt games of basketball. I can feel my game improving, which is motivating me, and I can also feel a good increase in my anaerobic endurance, which pumps me up even more. I weighed myself on the scale at home and it reads 193. So it's not all bad!

Woke up late yet again...

I did the same workout today as last week with the hopes that I will actually get around to my hypertrophy workouts this week.

DB Bench - 85lb dbs: 5, 5, 4, 4, 2...burnout- 50sX12...superset (db flyes)- 40sX10

The rest was pretty much the same, but I feel like I got my 45 dips completed in less sets this time.