Wednesday, June 19th, 2013 | Author: Casey Criswell

Here as of late, I’ve been fighting a losing mental battle with running. I still love it, don’t get me wrong. The problem comes from my attempts to cross over into the long distance territory. I’ve knocked out a good handful of 12 and 13 mile runs without much problems but here recently when trying to reach out to the 15 mile mark, I’ve fallen apart mentally a good half way through. There are some more factors at play here that are probably the actual culprit, but I’ll get to those in a minute!

It’s taken awhile, but I’ve gotten my physical self built up to the point that I can handle the long distance run. I’ve found lately though that as I set out to try and top my previous best mileage, It gets into my head early on just how far it is that I’m trying to run. Fifteen miles is the current landmark I’ve been striving for. When I’ve set out to do 13 miles, I’ve had it set firmly in my thoughts that I’m going to do it just to prove my doubts wrong and it never truly enters my mind just how far it is I’m going! With 15 miles however, every time I cross the 7 mile threshold (roughly halfway), I can’t stop thinking that as I’m working pretty hard for breath and my legs begin to get sore, that I have to turn around and repeat that distance I just did. It’s a dumb mental error, but it’s once everybody fights, especially newbies such as myself. And yes, I’m aware that running 7-10 miles is nothing to scoff at! :)

The part of this mental battle that I’ve been proud of, is that instead of getting discouraged after falling apart on these longer runs, I’m actually able to look at that constructively and realize what the actual problem is. That problem once again, is my brain and starting to let self doubt creep in. So, it’s a problem I can actually work on and try and develop some tools to actual make it easier to deal with when I’m out there on the road. One such tool I’ve been trying to use is music. I listen to music all the time, but generally it’s my generic upbeat playlist filled with songs I’ve listened to a million times. Early on when I started running, I used up beat music a lot. Things with a certain beat per minute that I could keep my pace too was pretty helpful. I find these days that I don’t need it quite as much. I’m able to maintain pace when I need to. So, my latest trick is to avoid the playlist and turn to full albums to listen to on my long runs. Oddly enough, it’s not the up tempo albums I used to like filled with screechy punk and metal music that helps, but it’s actually mellow melodic stuff that seems to do the trick! This morning, I set out with one of my favorites, the above pictures “Rainy Day Music” by the Jayhawks. I’ve listened to this album a million times, but it’s laid back and relaxing and listening to “Don’t Let the World Get in the Way” as the sun was rising was…dare I say….zen like. Other recent running faves as of late have been things such as Iron and Wine’s “Ghost on Ghost” or Sufjan Stevens “Come on And Bring the Illinois”. The key for me is, instead of being jarring and heart pumping, these mellow tunes help me zone out and get lost in my thoughts as I jam out, as opposed to constantly worry about pace and mileage. It’s been an eye opener for sure and all around pretty relaxing!

I mentioned other factors that have affected my long runs and the biggest that I wasn’t prepared to deal with? Heat and and humidity. This past Saturday, I gave myself a touch of heat exhaustion which kind of sucked. I ended up taking two different naps that afternoon and still felt pretty crampy and wrecked despite it all. This Saturday wasn’t as humid, but it was 80 degrees. The previous Saturday, the humidity was down right brutal! The fact is, when I started running last July, it was hot but I was barely able to make it a mile at a time back then. All of my distance running started in the winter and throughout the spring, so I’m just not acclimated to running in the heat and humidity as of yet! Again, this is another factor in myself that I actually find comfort in; actually being able to look at the problem objectively and realize where the problems are. In the past, I would have just gotten frustrated and gotten angsty over it all!

Category: Running  | Leave a Comment
Thursday, June 13th, 2013 | Author: Casey Criswell

This week, my health coach was out and had to miss our last group meeting for this session. In her stead, I was told I’d be running the group in her absence! (Note that I wasn’t asked!) Everybody expected me to talk about running, but I went a different direction and decided to spend today’s meeting sharing the various sites and apps that I’ve used along my journey! So, I figured I’d go ahead and share that list here for you all as well!

Enjoy!

Learn to Run:
Couch to 5K – http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml
Zombies Run 5k Training – https://www.zombiesrungame.com/
Hal Higdon Training Plans – http://www.halhigdon.com/training/
GPS Tracking:
Run Keeper – http://www.runkeeper.com
Endomondo – http://www.endomondo.com
Nike+ – http://www.nikeplus.com
Strava – http://www.strava.com/
Exercise Tracking:
Fitocracy – http://www.fitocracy.com
JeFit – http://www.jefit.com/
Google Docs – http://docs.google.com
Exercise Training:
EXRX.net – http://exrx.net/
Livestrong.com – http://www.livestrong.com
Starting Strength Wiki – http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/FAQ:The_Lifts
Brain Over Brawn – http://brainoverbrawn.com/ (body weight exercises)
Stumptuous – http://www.stumptuous.com/workout-6 (Female Centric fitness blog, good dumbbell program)
Entertainment:
Spotify – http://www.spotify.com
Pandora – http://www.pandora.com
Audible – http://www.audible.com
Jog.fm – http://www.jog.fm
Calorie and Weight Tracking:
My Fitness Pal – http://www.myfitnesspal.com
Physics Diet – http://www.physicsdiet.com
Sparkpeople – http://www.sparkpeople.com/
The Daily Plate – http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/
Recipes and Food Info:
Nutritionix – http://www.nutritionix.com/
Sparkpeople – http://www.sparkpeople.com/

Category: Movies  | Tags: , ,  | Leave a Comment
Friday, June 07th, 2013 | Author: Casey Criswell


Important note: as my wife pointed out, yes I look like a dork with my shirt tucked into my shorts! I don’t work out with them tucked in though, that was just for progress pics! I swear!

End Week 11:

This week saw the end of Week 11 of a 12 week body building split I’ve been working on, and I like to see that the change has been a bit noticeable! It took some time to get into the groove with this split, but now that I’ve been at it awhile, I like it quite a bit. This program started out as a 4 day program, but as I started to up my running miles, I realized that leg day plus running was pretty much frying my legs. I talked to a couple of the trainers of the gym and they agreed that I’m probably okay without out leg lifts for a bit!

So, my current split is three days. I have a chest day, a back day and a shoulder/arms day. This fits in well with my 25 to 30 miles of running a week as my legs stay pretty fresh for those miles. (Plus, my legs carted around 350 lbs for years, so they’re pretty built!) My original plan was to do this program for 12 weeks, then go back to the Starting Strength program that I did in the beginning, but the problem is that SS has you doing squats three days a week and dead lifts every other workout. That’s simply never going to work well with all the running. So, I’m thinking I’ll stick to the current split and start to substitute in some different lifts for the ones I’ve been doing. The main concern is that they say you should change up your lifts every 12 weeks or so, so I figure that will be enough to help.

I never thought I’d get into something anywhere close to body building, but I’m enjoying it. I’ll never be a bodybuilder, as that’s not what my ultimate goals are. The biggest thing is, when last I dropped a lot of weight, down to 214 lbs some 10 years ago, I was skinny, but I was what you would call skinny fat. I’ve never had any ‘muscle’ to speak of. So, I figured this time it’d be nice to at least look fit when I dropped all the body fat and so far, that feels like it’s working. It’s working to me at any rate!

A good Week.

In the end, it’s been a good week on the weight front. I’m to a point in my journey where I’m trying not to rely so much on the number on the scale and go more by body fat and appearance, but it’s hard. I’ve been fighting a plateau for a solid month, maybe a month and a half; it has been a tough one. Today though, I awoke to find that I have finally pushed beyond that point when I weighed in at 239.8! 241 has been the sticking point for so long, it was pretty exciting to see something below 240! I say it’s been a tough one, but I’ve never been despondent over it. I know by now that consistency is the magic key to weight loss and I’ve kept right on trucking. So I know it would break, just not when.

In addition to that, with school now being out so no daughters to get up for school, I’ve been able to transition my running to the mornings before work, and this has been a HUGE boon to my mileage! The evenings were okay, but it’s hard to squeeze an hour run in there sometimes. You’re tired from running around at work all day, you’re hungry, you want to relax and doing something easy for a bit. Let’s not forget that it’s getting to summer time it’s downright hot some evenings as well. Now in the mornings, I’ve found myself eager to get up and get going. It sounds cheesy, but there’s something pretty motivating about running with the sun rise that’s hard to explain. So far this week, I’ve racked up a little over 18 miles from Tuesday to Friday. Saturday, I plan on heading out early for my long run and I’m going to try for a new personal best, so we’ll see how that goes.

So, there’s this week in a nut shell! I hope yours has been a good week as well! Feel free to add any of your own successes in the comments or even ask any questions.

Thursday, June 06th, 2013 | Author: Casey Criswell

Recently, I was asked by the HR department at my company to write a letter about my journey and how the company provided Wellness Programs helped me in my success. I was happy to do so, as the Wellness program did quite a bit to help me get to where I’m at. Once the letter was done, I was asked to share the letter our Wellness Coordinator if I felt comfortable doing so. After some deliberation and though, I figure I might as well share it. At this point in my journey, I’m starting to morph as a person into something far healthier and happier and maybe even bordering on something that may closely be called an athlete.

My goals, dreams and aspirations have changed during this unfinished journey. I’ve got big, crazy ideas that I’ve dreamed of doing for years, but always assumed I’d never accomplish due to my size. All of those excuses are gone now, so I’ve adopted a ‘what the hell, let’s try it’ attitude towards it all. Along with this, I finally feel happy enough with myself that it’s time to start writing again, so I figure as I set off on these new goals and dreams, why not knock the rust off the old writing chops and get those back in shape here at the old CF as well.

So, to kick off this 2nd stage of Operation No More Mr. Fat Guy, here’s my letter. Hope you enjoy.

***********
In 2010, I had reached a point in my life where I was no longer happy with life and myself, and reached out to the CNO Employee Assistance Program and sought out therapy. At the time, the Employee Assistance Program was the answer to all of my problems; through this I was able to identify that I had an anxiety disorder and through their help, seek out the treatment to fix my anxiety and in turn my depression. This then lit a fire in me to better myself all around.

With the stress, depression and anxiety in hand, I decided to further improve myself. I was unhappy with my pack a day smoking habit and I was unhappy with my weight and size. Through the therapy however, I knew that it was best to take on these battles one at a time, so I set forth on my own power to put my smoking habit behind me once and for all. This too was a success, as I haven’t had a cigarette since November 2nd of 2010.

With smoking finally and truly out of the way, I found myself much happier and a fair bit healthier. My latent stress and inability to deal with it was still there in the background though. Instead of handling my bouts of stress with cigarettes, I turned to food and things got worse. My weight continued to grow until around February of 2012 where I found myself at 351 pounds, my health starting to decline, my blood pressure sky high, and a sense of self-loathing and hate when I saw myself in pictures. It was not a happy time, despite the progress I had made in other aspects of my life. At this time, I vowed to stop eating poorly, begin to exercise and nip my weight problems in the bud before I neared the 400 pound mark, the thought of which was bringing the depression back on its own.

In that month of February, I made a good start. I was eating better, but still far too much. I was walking and feeling proud of myself, yet still not dropping weight due to the amount of food I was eating. I was frustrated, but kept pushing on. One day in March, I happened to be taking a break at my desk, reading up on weight loss and diet tips, when an email popped up in my inbox. It was from our Wellness Coordinator letting the company know that the on-site clinic at our office was starting a weight loss program that was free of cost, but was taking a limited number of entrants. Up until this time, I was trying to figure out how I could work in the cost of Weight Watchers to join the on-site group that our company coordinated, but then the invite for FUSE with its key word “FREE” flashed before me and I replied with my wish to apply right there and then, knowing I needed help. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but knowing myself, I wouldn’t get very far without guidance, so I felt good knowing I was making the right choice.

Going into the FUSE program, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I figured we would be given a diet, and being told that I would be meeting one on one with a health coach throughout the program was intimidating at first. I was not feeling 100% confident in sharing the details of what I considered a very humiliating problem with a complete stranger. The first thing our coach told us on the first day of the group? That they were not going to give us a diet. We had to choose a diet that we felt like we could stick with for life. This thought was jarring at first as I expected they would be giving a diet much like Weight Watchers, but it didn’t take long for me to fall in synch with the truth of the matter; that I was changing my lifestyle, and not just dieting. The FUSE program started to gel for me for certain.

Sitting on the far side of the program, now down to 243 pounds with more yet to lose, I see where the FUSE program teaches weight loss in a healthy way. They teach that losing weight is not so much a diet, but changing your lifestyle to something you can maintain over life. This is a factor that is a huge stumbling block for many, including myself in the times I tried dieting before. I quickly came to see the FUSE program as something more akin to therapy than a weight loss group. They are teaching you the proper tools, tools that you weren’t aware of, so that you can fight this battle yourself. So many other diet plans give you strict guidelines and tell you to do this and nothing else, whereas FUSE teaches you how to live a healthier life, and to be happier with yourself and your choices. Healthier in weight, health AND mind.

Another key aspect of the wellness program is our access to one on one health coaching through the clinic. This is attached to the FUSE program; however you can utilize these services outside of the weight loss program as well. While the group meetings for the FUSE program were a big part of my success, the one on one health coaching has been the biggest factor of my success. There are times in the weight loss journey where all seems lost. Your weight will plateau and you will become frustrated and want to give up. Your health coach is there for you to sit down in complete privacy and air out these frustrations. They let you get them off of your chest, they help you learn the proper tools to be able to work around these issues, leaving you rejuvenated and confident that you can press through. For me, the coaching provided by our wellness program is the key ingredient to my success. There’s been so many times that I have felt upset or even overwhelmed or under confident; my coach has been there every time to talk through every one of these issues and to help me find the best course to be able to combat them. The key here is that she teaches me how to do these things, rather than tell me that I have to do it this way. This leaves me educated so that the next time I come across the same feelings, I know how to combat them.

When I had my first doctor visit for FUSE, I was 345.6 pounds. I had a BMI of 47.6. My Blood Pressure was 130 over 86 and my LDL cholesterol was 121. I was pretty embarrassed to say the least. I had started cutting out bad food and walking a good month before this time. The only stats I know for sure from before the start of FUSE are that the very first time I stopped in at the clinic to weigh myself, I was 351 pounds.

Today, I am a different person. A new, better, happier and fitter person! My most recent weigh in found me at 243 pounds. 108 pounds down from where I started in February of 2012. At my last biometric screening, my blood pressure was 120/64. My LDL cholesterol is now 88. My BMI is 35.9 and getting better every day. I have a resting heart rate of 49 bpm.

My weight loss journey has changed my life. Parts of my depression in the past stemmed from a fact that I was 38 years old, living the life of somebody much older. My family and I didn’t go out and do much as far as activities go. I found myself making excuses to not take my daughter to the pool because I was tired and the thought of being seen with my shirt off was terrifying. We never went camping or hiking because I felt fat and exhausted. I felt trapped at home and this brought my self-esteem down constantly. Now, we are far more active. I come home from work, I no longer feel like I need to take a nap. I get home from work; I’m ready to go do whatever. At work, I no longer feel exhausted and irritable all the time with a need to spend my lunch hour napping in my car in the parking lot. Now, I’m ready to go and too much idle time at my desk makes me feel nervous and twitchy! The excuse to run and do tickets to fix peoples computers is welcome, just because it’s a chance to move!

As I said, I am no longer the man I once was. I am no longer on high blood pressure medicine, cholesterol medicine, antidepressants or even anti-anxiety meds. In fact, the only medicines that I take regularly these days are my allergy medicines! In this past winter, I didn’t even catch a cold, or my annual sinus infection! I’m far happier, no longer snippy with my family and seldom find myself depressed or anxious. When I do feel those come on? I head out for a run, or to the gym (where I receive a discount thanks to the CNO Wellness program as well) and all of those feelings fade away. Most importantly to me, I no longer feel like an old man stuck at home. I feel like a man who is preparing to turn 40 looking better than he did at 30, chasing dreams that he once held as a kid but figured he would always be too fat to obtain. These days, I have 5 races under my belt, I find myself preparing for my first marathon or two and running 25 to 30 miles a week. Things I thought I would never be able to add to my list of accomplishments.

I firmly believe that without the help of the CNO Wellness programs, the FUSE programs and the ongoing support of my Health Coach, I may have been somewhat successful on my own. I wouldn’t be near as far as I am today with such a new outlook on life, healthiness and self-worth. Without them teaching me, I don’t think I would have had the resources to make the choices that I now make without second thought!

Thanks for that.

Category: Running  | Tags: , , ,  | Leave a Comment
Thursday, April 11th, 2013 | Author: Casey Criswell

Thursday 4/11/2013

One good thing about things being crazy at work? The week blazes by super fast!

Today was a taxing day on the old ‘bod’, in that I had to go physical therapy for the knee, then hit the gym for back day, then ran a bit on the elliptical to round it out. I’ll sleep good tonight! The therapy is coming along well, adding new stuff every week. My hips are getting stronger, I still have no ass (according to my wife) and i’m probably going to be looking for alternatives for squats for awhile to help things heal up. (I’m already doing leg press, and will be continuing to do so!)

We started the next round of our weight loss group today, which was cool to see the friends I’ve made in there, as well as the new faces from the last education class. I’m up a good 6 pound from where I was when we left off, but I know it’s due to my vacation excess, which is a decision I made consciously, and not mindlessly. So, I gotta live with the consequences. The diet’s been on track this week though, so it’s all good and those 6 pounds will come off soon enough.

For a nice aside, I ran into a trainer at the gym I haven’t seen for a good month. he asked how the weight loss was coming, to which I was honest about. His response was, ‘well, it’s obvious you’re still dropping body fat, look how hard your chest is getting?’

Which is cool.

Gooch2k2 Tracked a Workout for 545 pts Today
Elliptical Trainer:
- 0:12:00
- http://runkeeper.com/user/CinemaFromage/activity/166395006
Pull-Up:
- 10 reps || assisted || 115 lb
- 10 reps || assisted || 115 lb
- 9 reps || assisted || 115 lb
- 10 reps || assisted || 115 lb
Bent Over Barbell Row:
- 100 lb x 12 reps
- 100 lb x 12 reps
- 100 lb x 10 reps
- 100 lb x 10 reps
Lat Pulldown:
- 100 lb x 12 reps
- 100 lb x 12 reps
- 100 lb x 12 reps
Seated Cable Row:
- 42.5 lb x 12 reps
- 42.5 lb x 12 reps
- 42.5 lb x 12 reps
Wide-Grip Pulldown Behind The Neck:
- 100 lb x 12 reps
- 100 lb x 12 reps
- 100 lb x 12 reps
Weighted Decline Sit-Up:
- 10 lb x 15 reps
- 10 lb x 15 reps
- 10 lb x 10 reps

Category: Movies  | Comments off
Tuesday, April 09th, 2013 | Author: Casey Criswell

Tuesday 4/9/2013

Here’s another update. Weights went well, felt good to hit the elliptical after lifting!

In other news, the ‘hell week’ from work that I thought was over? It’s still going. Thanks to horrible vendor support, I’m having to cancel my third physical therapy appointment for my knee today. This shit’s never going to get healed.

Gooch2k2 Tracked a Workout for 793 pts Today
Elliptical Trainer:
- 0:27:30 || Easy
- http://runkeeper.com/user/CinemaFromage/activity/165548827
Barbell Incline Bench Press:
- 125 lb x 12 reps
- 125 lb x 12 reps
- 125 lb x 12 reps
- 125 lb x 10 reps
Barbell Bench Press:
- 135 lb x 12 reps
- 135 lb x 12 reps
- 135 lb x 10 reps
Machine Chest Fly (Pec Deck):
- 85 lb x 15 reps
- 85 lb x 15 reps
- 85 lb x 15 reps
Dips – Chest Version:
- 15 reps || assisted || 115 lb
- 13 reps || assisted || 115 lb
Standing Dumbbell Calf Raise:
- 50 lb x 12 reps
- 50 lb x 12 reps
- 50 lb x 12 reps
fito2sa

Category: Movies  | Comments off
Monday, April 08th, 2013 | Author: Casey Criswell

Monday 4/8/2013

I’m back! I know, you all probably didn’t know I left, but hey it was a short vacation, I made the most of it!

Today, I’m struggling. It’s all a mental struggle, but I’m struggling all the same. Over my 5 day vacation, I ate like crap, which is my own fault. But with the hell that has been my job here as of late, I needed a few days not thinking. I did manage to lift in those 5 days and I did manage to hike a good 6-7 miles total during that time! But I still ate like crap. Which leaves me on this Monday feeling flat and bloated and all around like I set myself back. Of course I’m up a few pounds but in reality, it’s not disastrous and well,we’re going to get back on track as of now.

And I did get back on track! Diet’s tight today, workout was solid and I got some cardio in, so that’s good too.

I’m struggling with my lifting as well. My knee’s doing good, though I still get twinges in it from time to time, and I’m still doing physical therapy for it too. That’s not setting me off so much. The thing I’m having problems with is this switch to a new lifting program. I loved Starting Strength. I loved it a lot. But, I’d been doing it since September, which in lifting terms, is too long. So, I’m trying out this new program, and it’s a good program…I’m just not in the groove yet. This leaves me feeling out of sorts and maybe like I’m not lifting enough (since it’s all isolation) and just not quite where I was in general. However, I’m being realistic about it I know it takes time for anything to become comfortable and this will get there soon too, I’m sure. Tacking on an extra 20 minutes of cardio today helped a lot to erase that feeling of not doing enough, so I think I’m on to something.

Gooch2k2 Tracked a Workout for 923 pts Today
Elliptical Trainer:
- 0:20:00 || Easy
- http://runkeeper.com/user/CinemaFromage/activity/165307437
Leg Extensions:
- 50 lb x 15 reps
- 50 lb x 15 reps
- 50 lb x 15 reps
- 50 lb x 15 reps
Barbell Squat:
- 145 lb x 12 reps
- 145 lb x 12 reps
- 145 lb x 12 reps
- 145 lb x 12 reps
Leg Press:
- 230 lb x 12 reps
- 230 lb x 12 reps
- 230 lb x 12 reps
Lying Leg Curls:
- 95 lb x 12 reps
- 95 lb x 12 reps
- 95 lb x 12 reps
- 95 lb x 12 reps
Stiff-Legged Barbell Deadlift:
- 145 lb x 12 reps
- 145 lb x 12 reps
- 145 lb x 10 reps
Weighted Decline Sit-Up:
- 10 lb x 15 reps
- 10 lb x 15 reps
- 10 lb x 10 reps

Category: Movies  | Comments off
Tuesday, April 02nd, 2013 | Author: Casey Criswell

Tuesday 4/2/2013

The week from hell draws to a close, though it bumped my schedule by a day before it died! No worries though, because I got chest and back in today and I don’t have to work for the next 5 days! Huzzah!

The knee is doing better, still sore now and then, but better all the same. I’m still doing PT twice a week and they’re working on my butt, cause….my butt’s pretty weak. That’s okay though, it’ll improve! I’ve still been logging some miles running, which has been fantastic with the warm up, and the only thing keeping me sane in this crazy ass period here at work.

On my mini-vacation, I still plan on running AND…I’ve already made plans to visit my parents gym when we’re visiting them at the end of the week, so let’s get this train back on the rails!

Weight’s up by 2 pounds, at 248 but that’s due to stress and me trying to not go crazy with stress on the weekends and indulging a bit. It’ll buff out though.

Gooch2k2 Tracked a Workout for 1,096 pts Today
Barbell Incline Bench Press:
- 115 lb x 5 reps
- 125 lb x 12 reps
- 125 lb x 12 reps
- 125 lb x 12 reps
- 125 lb x 11 reps
Barbell Bench Press:
- 125 lb x 10 reps
- 125 lb x 10 reps
- 125 lb x 10 reps
Machine Chest Fly (Pec Deck):
- 100 lb x 15 reps
- 100 lb x 15 reps
- 100 lb x 15 reps
Dips – Chest Version:
- 10 reps || assisted || 100 lb
- 15 reps || assisted || 115 lb
Pull-Up:
- 10 reps || assisted || 115 lb
- 6 reps || assisted || 115 lb
- 5 reps || assisted || 115 lb
Bent Over Barbell Row:
- 100 lb x 12 reps
- 100 lb x 10 reps
- 100 lb x 10 reps
- 100 lb x 10 reps
Lat Pulldown:
- 100 lb x 10 reps
- 100 lb x 10 reps
- 100 lb x 10 reps
Seated Cable Row:
- 42.5 lb x 10 reps
- 42.5 lb x 10 reps
- 42.5 lb x 10 reps
Wide-Grip Pulldown Behind The Neck:
- 70 lb x 15 reps
- 70 lb x 15 reps
- 70 lb x 15 reps
Weighted Decline Sit-Up:
- 10 lb x 15 reps
- 10 lb x 10 reps
- 10 lb x 7 reps
fito2sa

Category: Movies  | Tags: , , ,  | Comments off
Wednesday, March 20th, 2013 | Author: Casey Criswell

Wednesday 3/20/2013

Day two of the new four day split! Like I had predicted, I was pretty sore this morning after the first day of the new program, despite if I thought I was working hard or not. It was a good kind of sore, (i’ve actually come to look forward to DOMS, in my mind, it means you worked hard!) so it’s all gravy. Mmm gravy. Today’s workout was all shoulders and tri’s. I felt the burn a little more during the workout this time but by the time I was done, I had some serious T Rex arms going as I tried to wash my hair! When I went to do my dips at the end, an exercise I’ve been busting out 30 reps on at the same weight, I damn near fell off the machine, my arms were jelly!

So, it was good workout.

Tomorrow’s the first day of Physical Therapy. Hopefully I’ll get told I can at least do the elliptical or something. No running is making me antsy and an antsy Casey is no fun for anybody.

Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press:
- 25 lb x 8 reps
- 35 lb x 8 reps
- 45 lb x 8 reps
- 50 lb x 4 reps
Seated Barbell Military Press:
- 45 lb x 5 reps
- 65 lb x 5 reps
- 85 lb x 5 reps
- 95 lb x 10 reps
- 95 lb x 6 reps
- 95 lb x 6 reps
Dumbbell Side Lateral Raise:
- 10 lb x 20 reps
Reverse Triceps Bench Press:
- 45 lb x 8 reps
- 65 lb x 8 reps
- 85 lb x 8 reps
- 95 lb x 8 reps
Close-Grip Barbell Bench Press:
- 95 lb x 5 reps
- 115 lb x 10 reps
- 115 lb x 8 reps
- 115 lb x 6 reps
Cable Rope Overhead Triceps Extension:
- 32.5 lb x 20 reps
Dips – Chest Version:
- 5 reps || assisted || 70 lb
- 5 reps || assisted || 70 lb

Category: Movies  | Tags: , , ,  | Comments off
Tuesday, March 19th, 2013 | Author: Casey Criswell

Tuesday 3/19/2013

Well, today’s a bitter sweet day. After getting my back healed up, I noticed all the while that my right knee was feeling funny. Not all the time, but at random times I’d get done with squats and my knee would feel like I was wearing a knee brace. At first that’s all it was; a tightness around the knee. But as the next two weeks progressed, the feeling happened more and more often and then the acheyness would set in in the evening.

By this past Friday, I said the hell with it and went into the Dr. The prognosis is not good…well, to be honest the prognosis was pretty ambiguous to be honest. The doctor left me with a physical therapy appointment and orders to stop running for the time being and no lower body lifts, which kind of sucks. When asked about doing say the elliptical or the stationary bike at least for cardio, I was faced with ‘it will slow your healing’. So, I’m faced with cutting my exercise down drastically, just as my plateau began to break! Yes, it sucks.

When looking at the change, I started thinking about my lifting. I was told specifically I could do all the upper body stuff. I had also had a conversation with a friend at the gym about how I’ve been doing the same program since September, and how it was good to change up lifting routines periodically to shock your muscles. It didn’t take long to put two and two together and figure out that this may be a good time to get off of Starting Strength and try something new.

Here I with day one of Alfalfa’s #4. It’s a bit different from starting strength and it feels like I’m back in noob mode, but I’m pretty excited to be doing something new. With this program being a four day split, with one day dedicated to leg stuff, I figure for the time being it will be pretty easy to just skip the leg day and add an extra cardio day once I figure out what cardio I can do safely. I’m not interested in being huge, but this program’s supposed to be balanced for strength and size and with the changes I’ve seen so far, I’m pretty stoked to have muscles once I drop the rest of this pesky stomach fat!

Here’s to day 1. It didn’t feel as tiring as Starting Strength’s A day, but then again, I probably won’t be able to lift my arms by this evening!

Dumbbell Bench Press:
- 30 lb x 6 reps
- 40 lb x 6 reps
- 55 lb x 6 reps
- 60 lb x 6 reps
Barbell Incline Bench Press:
- 90 lb x 5 reps
- 115 lb x 5 reps
- 125 lb x 10 reps
- 125 lb x 8 reps
- 125 lb x 5 reps
Barbell Bench Press:
- 135 lb x 5 reps
- 145 lb x 10 reps
- 135 lb x 6 reps
- 135 lb x 5 reps
Machine Chest Fly (Pec Deck):
- 70 lb x 10 reps
- 85 lb x 10 reps
- 100 lb x 15 reps
- 100 lb x 15 reps
Incline Dumbbell Curl:
- 20 lb x 8 reps
- 30 lb x 5 reps
- 25 lb x 8 reps
Barbell Curl:
- 40 lb x 10 reps
- 40 lb x 8 reps
- 40 lb x 5 reps
Close-Grip Standing Barbell Curl:
- 40 lb x 15 reps
Cable Crunch:
- 52.5 lb x 12 reps
- 52.5 lb x 12 reps
- 52.5 lb x 12 reps
fito2sa

Category: Movies  | Tags: , , ,  | Comments off