Matt's training journal.

Monday, August 2nd, 2004
Morning workout.

Today's a civic holiday so I had the day off of work, hoorah! That also means that the gym closed at 4pm though, so I had to go early. When I asked my training partner if he'd be willing to go early today he of course decided that he'd rather get stone drunk and use a hangover as an excuse to not go today. I swear, anything to keep him out of the gym.. So anyway, I went with my dad. I expected him to phone before showing up but he just rang the doorbell and woke me up from a nap. It's hard to get yourself going right from sleep.

Chest

Warmed up with bench press, 10 reps at 135 lbs. Also cranked out 10 wide push-ups.

Bench press - 6x215, 5x215, 5x215. No spotter today so I went with 215, good thing too. I tried for a sixth rep on the second set and got "stuck". Isn't it weird how you can't lift an inch but you feel like you can hold it there forever? That's what I thought at least. I pushed and pushed until I ran out of breath and my face went red. Eventually I knew I'd have to put the weight down. I managed to get the bar to the middle rung on the right side and just barely managed the bottom rung on the left side. Phew! That gave me some aggression and adrenaline to handle the last set though.

Incline dumbbell press - 6x65, 6x65, 6x65. I always feel like a wimp when I record dumbbell exercises because 65 looks so small compared to something like 215.

Bicep

Warmed up with barbell curl, 10 reps at 45 lbs.

Barbell curl - 6x90, 5x90, 4x90. There was a huge ape (I'd say sasquatch but he was hairless) doing incline dumbbell presses with 80's. On every rep he'd do this loud grunt / burp noise that shook the walls. I'll do a grunt or two if I'm pushing really hard but I swear this guy was a frickin' fog horn. It was loud enough to annoy me and I was fifty or sixty feet away with benches, weights, and people in between us. God damn.

Pulley barbell curl - 5x140, 5x140, 5x140.

I just realized that I forgot to do my shoulder shrugs. Damnit.

Monday, August 2nd, 2004
Food for the day.

08:15
Oatmeal (1 cup oatmeal, 2 tbsp. dried currants, 1/2 cup 1% cottage cheese, 1 cup water) [246 cal, 21g prot, 3.3g fat, 31.7g carbs]
GNC Mega Men multi-vitamin

13:45
Big pita with turkey, bacon, romaine lettuce, onions, green peppers, dijon mustard, bean sprouts, mushrooms, feta cheese. Mmmmmmmm. I missed my earlier meal because I was sleeping and then went straight to the gym.

18:00
Steak with garlic mashed potatos and mixed veggies.

I'll be having a granola bar later on as well. Jeez I know I really skimped out today..

Tuesday, August 3rd, 2004
Food for the day.

07:00
Oatmeal (1 cup oatmeal, 2 tbsp. dried currants, 1/2 cup 1% cottage cheese, 1 cup water) [246 cal, 21g prot, 3.3g fat, 31.7g carbs]
GNC Mega Men multi-vitamin

09:30
1 granola bar. Blah. About 200 cals.

12:00
Oatmeal (1 cup oatmeal, 2 tbsp. dried currants, 1/2 cup 1% cottage cheese, 1 cup water) [246 cal, 21g prot, 3.3g fat, 31.7g carbs]
100 grams chicken breast

14:30
Half a granola bar. These really don't do it for me. About 100 cals.

17:15
Oatmeal (1 cup oatmeal, 2 tbsp. dried currants, 1/2 cup 1% cottage cheese, 1 cup water) [246 cal, 21g prot, 3.3g fat, 31.7g carbs]

19:30 or 19:45
Large greek salad with two boneless skinless chicken breasts.

Tuesday, August 3rd, 2004
Evening workout.

The wife needed to do some running around after the gym so we went early without our training partners.

Legs

Warmed up with squats, 10 reps at 135 lbs.

Squats - 6x225, 6x225, 5x225.

Another warm up with leg curls, 10 reps at 80 lbs.

Leg curls - 6x110, 6x120, 6x120.

Standing calf raises - 6x255

Seated calf raises - 6x90, 6x90

Shoulders

Warmed up with seated dumbbell shoulder presses, 10 reps at 30 lbs.

Seated dumbbell presses - 6x60, 5x65, 5x65.

Side dumbbell raises - 6x25, 6x25, 6x25.

Rear dumbbell raises - 6x20, 6x20, 6x20.

Good workout, the squats and dumbbell presses were the best of them.

Wednesday, August 4th, 2004
Food for the day.

07:00
Oatmeal (1 cup oatmeal, 2 tbsp. dried currants, 1/2 cup 1% cottage cheese, 1 cup water) [246 cal, 21g prot, 3.3g fat, 31.7g carbs]
GNC Mega Men multi-vitamin

09:30
A scoop of whey.

12:00
Oatmeal (1 cup oatmeal, 2 tbsp. dried currants, 1 scoop ON 100% whey, 1 cup water)
1 cup of cottage cheese

14:30
A granola bar.

17:30
Oatmeal (1 cup oatmeal, 2 tbsp. dried currants, 1/2 cup 1% cottage cheese, 1 cup water) [246 cal, 21g prot, 3.3g fat, 31.7g carbs]

21:00
Oatmeal (1 cup oatmeal, 2 tbsp. dried currants, 1/2 cup 1% cottage cheese, 1 cup water) [246 cal, 21g prot, 3.3g fat, 31.7g carbs]

Hah! Tons of oatmeal, love the stuff. The cottage cheese is much better than the whey though.

Thursday, August 5th, 2004
Food for the day.

07:00
Oatmeal (1 cup oatmeal, 2 tbsp. dried currants, 1/2 cup 1% cottage cheese, 1 cup water) [246 cal, 21g prot, 3.3g fat, 31.7g carbs]
GNC Mega Men multi-vitamin

09:30
A scoop of ON 100% whey
Some slices of hot pepper marble cheese

12:00
Oatmeal (1 cup oatmeal, 2 tbsp. dried currants, 1 scoop ON 100% whey, 1 cup water, 1/2 cup 1% cottage cheese)
3 hard-boiled eggs

14:30
A granola bar.

17:30
Oatmeal (1 cup oatmeal, 2 tbsp. dried currants, 1/2 cup 1% cottage cheese, 1 cup water) [246 cal, 21g prot, 3.3g fat, 31.7g carbs]

19:30
PWO shake, scoop of whey and 40g dextrose.

Supper's supposed to be pizza tonight but I'm going to try and avoid it if I can convince the wife and bro/sis-in-law to get something else. Time will tell.

Edit: Yep, it was pizza.. Booooo.

Thursday, August 5th, 2004
Evening workout.

Back

Pull-ups - 8, 7, 6.

Bent-over barbell rows - 6x135, 6x135, 6x135. I tried varying my form as discussed in another thread (http://www.discussbodybuilding.com/BB_Rows_and_form_in_general%3F%3F%3F/m_24287/tm.htm) and found that I actually prefer going completely parallel. I'm not sure how well it'll work when I use a really heavy weight but I'm going to use it from now on.

Laying back extensions - 6x50, 6x50, 6x50.

Triceps

Warmed up with close-grip decline bench press, 10 reps at 95 lbs.

Close-grip decline bench press - 6x205, 6x205, 6x205. Feeling awesome on these. I did 2 reps at the start and they felt really off, turns out I had 225 on the bar. Oops.

Weighted dips - 6x35, 6x60, 6x60. Woo! My new second favorite tricep exercise. I felt like a damn fool with the weights hanging between my legs but they sure worked well. When I first put on the belt I looked at my brother and said "Yeah feels about normal" referring to the weight haha and some chick gave me a dirty look, it was great.

Friday, August 6th, 2004.
Food for the day.

07:00
Oatmeal (1 cup oatmeal, 2 tbsp. dried currants, 1/2 cup 1% cottage cheese, 1 cup water) [246 cal, 21g prot, 3.3g fat, 31.7g carbs]
GNC Mega Men multi-vitamin

09:30
Scoop of whey

12:00
Oatmeal (1 cup oatmeal, 2 tbsp. dried currants, 1/2 cup 1% cottage cheese, 1 cup water) [246 cal, 21g prot, 3.3g fat, 31.7g carbs]
2 pieces of pickled herring

14:30
Nature Valley banana nut granola bar package

16:30
4 pints of Steamwhistle beer
Buncha sandwich foods from a buffet

Saturday, August 7th, 2004.
Food for the day.

We spent the entire day at the Toronto Zoo today, I just got back now actually. So it was a very poor day for food and I missed my cardio this morning.

08:15
Oatmeal (1 cup oatmeal, 2 tbsp. dried currants, 1/2 cup 1% cottage cheese, 1 cup water) [246 cal, 21g prot, 3.3g fat, 31.7g carbs]
GNC Mega Men multi-vitamin

11:30?
Large coffee
Cinamon roll
Cranberry/blueberry bran muffin

13:00?
"Smokey Jack's" burger at Jack Astor's.
Pint of Kilkenny.

18:00?
Large coffee

20:30
Big slice of pizza

I'll be drinking at my brother's tonight, I picked out 3 big cans of Strongbow for the occasion.

Crap! I missed Sunday's food and Monday's workout and food. Hmmm. I'll do Monday's workout at least.

Monday, August 9th, 2004
Evening workout.

Chest

Warmed up with bench press, 10 reps at 135 lbs.

Bench press - 6x225, 6x225, 5x215.

Incline bench press (dumbbells) - 6x65, 6x65, 6x65.

Bicep

Warmed up with barbell curl, 10 reps at 40 lbs.

Barbell curl - 5x90, 5x90, 6x80. I lowered the weight for the last one, my left forearm was hurting from gripping the bar.

Cable barbell curl - 5x140, 5x140, 5x140.

Crud, I forgot to do shrugs again! Ahhhhh

Monday, August 9th, 2004
Food for the day.

07:00
Oatmeal (1 cup oatmeal, 2 tbsp. dried currants, 1/2 cup 1% cottage cheese, 1 cup water) [246 cal, 21g prot, 3.3g fat, 31.7g carbs]
GNC Mega Men multi-vitamin

09:30
Egg salad sandwich (1.5 eggs, 2 tbsp. low fat mayo, 2 slices of 12 grain bread)

12:00
Oatmeal (1 cup oatmeal, 2 tbsp. dried currants, 1 scoop ON 100% whey, 1 cup water)
1 cup of cottage cheese
Jello low-fat vanilla/caramel pudding

14:30
Egg salad sandwich (1.5 eggs, 2 tbsp. low fat mayo, 2 slices of 12 grain bread)

17:30
Oatmeal (1 cup oatmeal, 2 tbsp. dried currants, 1/2 cup 1% cottage cheese, 1 cup water) [246 cal, 21g prot, 3.3g fat, 31.7g carbs]

21:00
Chicken linguine amatriciana at East Side Mario's
Caesar salad
Bread

Lots of food today but mostly carbs, boo.

Tuesday, July 27th, 2004
Evening workout.

No training partner tonight, it's his wedding anniversary. I can forgive that one.

Legs

Warmed up with squats, 10 reps at 95 lbs.

Squats - 6x225, 6x225, 6x235. Squats get more and more fun the more my form improves. Almost failed on the last two reps.

Leg curls - 6x130, 6x130, 6x130. 130 was easy enough.

Calf raises - 8x80, 8x80, 8x80. I did all sitting raises this time, they feel better some how.

Shoulders

Warmed up with dumbbell shoulder presses, 10 reps at 30 lbs each.

Dumbbell shoulder presses - 6x60, 6x65, 6x65. Oooh yeah! The 65's felt great. I had two guys looking at me cus my head looked tiny between those dumbbells.

Side lateral raises - 6x25, 6x25, 6x25. Easy enough tonight, I might raise them next week.

Rear lateral raises - 6x25, 6x25, 6x25. I raised the weights on these without realizing it but hey, it worked out fine.

Pretty good workout tonight, I enjoyed it. My workout on Thursday will be my last for probably a week, I have wisdom tooth surgery on Friday. They can extract the teeth in my upper jaw but they have to shatter the ones in my lower jaw. The oral surgeon said that I can expect 3-4 days of swelling and another 3-4 for the swelling to go down. I'd better buy some pain killers.

Wednesday, August 11th, 2004
Food for the day.

07:00
Oatmeal (1 cup oatmeal, 2 tbsp. dried currants, 1/2 cup 1% cottage cheese, 1 cup water) [246 cal, 21g prot, 3.3g fat, 31.7g carbs]
GNC Mega Men multi-vitamin

09:30
Scoop of whey
Jello low-fat vanilla/caramel pudding

12:00
Oatmeal (1 cup oatmeal, 2 tbsp. dried currants, 1 scoop ON 100% whey, 1 cup water)
1 cup of cottage cheese
3 hard-boiled eggs
Cup of skim milk

19:00
Half of a chicken, no skin
Coleslaw
Potato salad

Too many meetings, missed some of my meals.

Thursday, August 12th, 2004
Food for the day.

07:00
Oatmeal (1 cup oatmeal, 2 tbsp. dried currants, 1/2 cup 1% cottage cheese, 1 cup water) [246 cal, 21g prot, 3.3g fat, 31.7g carbs]
GNC Mega Men multi-vitamin

09:30
2 scoops of whey

12:00
Oatmeal (1 cup oatmeal, 2 tbsp. dried currants, 1 scoop ON 100% whey, 1 cup water)
1 cup of cottage cheese
1 hard-boiled egg

14:30
Bag of mixed nuts

17:00
2 scoops of whey

20:00
PWO was 2 scoops of whey and 3 tbsp of dextrose
500mL chocolate milk
300g rainbow trout bbq'd
Too many meetings, missed some of my meals.

Thursday, August 12th, 2004
Evening workout.

This'll be the last one for a bit, I have wisdom teeth surgery tomorrow. I wonder how long the doc will tell me to ditch the weights.

Back

Pull-ups - 8, 7, 8. On the last set I did switch-ups. Wide-grip up, change grip in the air, low grip down, back up, change grip, etc. Good stuff.

Bent-over barbell rows - 6x135, 6x135, 6x135.

Laying back extensions - 6x50, 6x50, 6x50.

Triceps

Warmed up with close-grip decline bench press, 10 reps at 95 lbs.

Close-grip decline bench press - 6x205, 6x205, 6x215.

Weighted dips - 6x60, 6x70, 6x70.