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"In tennis the addict moves about a hard rectangle and seeks to ambush a fuzzy ball with a modified snow-shoe." ~Elliot Chaze Backstory: I've pretty much always been chunky, from my baby pictures to my sophomore yearbook. I was raised in the age of video games, spend most of my time on the computer and don't have much interest in most sports, so I guess I was sort of cursed. The heaviest I've ever been was the summer before Freshman year, when I weighed 240 pounds. Ironically, I think that this was also my healthiest period, due to the fact that I played football and football practice and conditioning is the closest that a high-school kid from the suburbs can get to boot-camp. Which is probably why I quit. Now I'm 18 and I may weigh 45 pounds less than I did then, but I am in so much worse shape. Problems with motivation and depression have caused me to cease basically any non-walking physical activity when it wasn't tennis season. Oh, also, in my freshman year I was diagnosed with Malignant Melanoma. It's all gone now, but I'm still under doctor's orders to stay out of the sun as much as possible and to wear sunscreen any time that I go out, to help prevent a relapse. But none of this is really important, or what I need to focus on. What I need to focus on is motivation, and I have two big motivations to get healthy. The first is Tennis. Tennis is the only sport which has managed to keep my attention all through high school. I've been on JV since freshman year, and I was 1st JV doubles last year. I have pretty good technique, which is the reason why I've been able to get where I am, but my main problem is stamina. I can almost always keep up with the guys ahead of me up until about six or seven games in, and then I start to drop off. I'm bad at any sort of extended running and I just can't keep the intensity up. I also need a little more arm strength, I can't smash the ball crazy hard and a lot of the time I have to rely on my wicked slice. The second motivation is college. In the fall, I am going to be moving several hours away to one of the best colleges in the country, where absolutely no one will know me. It's a completely fresh start, and I want to be able to start strong. Luckily for me, I have in my basement a bench, a bunch of weights and bars, and a treadmill. Also one of those Gazelle things but I'm not touching that. The Incriminating Evidence: Height: Somewhere between 5'11" and 6' even Weight: 196.8 lbs as of Wednesday, 1/30/13. And this is what I look like:   As you can see, I have virtually no arm muscle, and a muffin-top in elastic gym shorts. I also think I have a fairly large ribcage, but I dunno. There's also this:  My Goals: -  I want to be able to run a 5K, or run for thirty minutes without stopping, by April 30th, 2013. -I want to be stronger than I was as a freshman, so 150 bench and 250 deadlift, also by April 30th, 2013. -I want to be able to bench my bodyweight and deadlift 300 before I leave for college, but for simplicity let's say by August 30th, 2013 -I want to be able run a 10K or a nonstop hour, also by August 30th, 2013. Other things that would be nice: -Get down to 180 lbs. It's the lightest I've been since I stopped getting taller, and it's a weight that I'm happy with. -Never be the last person to finish warm-up runs again during tennis practice. -Earn a Varsity spot finally, as well as a letter. -No more touching thighs. The Routine: Running: Mostly straight Couch to 5K. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Lifting: Tuesdays I will be focusing on my arms and legs, Thursdays on my arms and torso, Saturdays on my torso and legs. I'll try to keep my current routines in more detail updated in the second post. Miscellaneous: Push-ups and Sit-ups/crunches on running days/sundays. Otherwise Sunday is a rest day. I'll try to make sure I update the log at least once a week, as well as any time something outside of my normal routine happens. I also have a fitocracy thing. (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST) Raenir K. Artemi fucked around with this message at Feb 5, 2013 around 20:05 |
| # ? Feb 3, 2013 21:13 |
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| # ? May 24, 2013 01:09 |
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Current Lifting Routines: Tuesday: Arms and Legs 3x10 Dumbbell Bicep Curls, 20 lbs. 3x10 Dumbbell Kickback, 20 lbs. 3x10 Dumbbell Front Raise, 25 lbs. 3x10 Leg Extensions, 70 lbs. 3x10 Leg Curls, 70 lbs. 3x10 Front Squats, 90 lbs. 3x10 Calf Raises, +70 lbs. 3x10 Dumbbell Lunges, +70 lbs. Thursday: Arms and Torso 3x10 Bench Press, 80 lbs. 3x10 Shoulder Shrug, 90 lbs. 3x10 Dumbbell Bicep Curls, 20 lbs. 3x10 Dumbbell Kickback, 20 lbs. 3x10 Dumbbell Front Raise, 25 lbs. 2x10 Sumo Deadlift, 130 lbs. Saturday: Legs and Torso 3x10 Bench Press, 80 lbs. 3x10 Bent-over Dumbbell row, 35 lbs. 3x10 Dumbbell Lunges, +70 lbs 3x10 Leg Extensions, 70 lbs. 3x10 Leg Curls, 70 lbs. 3x10 Front Squats, 90 lbs. 3x10 Calf Raises, +70 lbs. 2x10 Sumo Deadlift, 130 lbs. If anyone has suggestions to replace some of these lifts with an equivalent or better lift, I'd be happy to try it. Raenir K. Artemi fucked around with this message at Feb 9, 2013 around 21:23 |
| # ? Feb 3, 2013 21:13 |
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And, to complete this self-improvement-post trifecta, here is my log for this week. It doesn't match the routines that I just posted exactly, mostly because I was testing my current limits and seeing what would work with my schedule. TUESDAY: Freak Ohio Winter Warmness struck, which is what got me off of my butt to actually start running, and so I went outside to do the first day of Couch to 5K. Aside from a phone call extending my warm-up walk, it went pretty well. I was sweating and out of breath by the end, so that's good. I ended up with 20 minutes walking and 8 minutes jogging. And then I got home and did 10 push-ups and Sit-ups. It wasn't much, but it was a start. Wednesday: On Wednesday I asked my dad to help me get all of my weight sets and stuff set up while messing as little as possible with his, and I lifted for the first time in three years. I'm starting fairly slow and working to get my form back before I move to bigger weights. My workout was 3x10 Bench Press, 80 lbs; 3x10 Bent-over Dumbbell Row, 35 lbs; 1x4 Standing Dumbbell curls, 25 lbs (and then I realized that my form standing was poo poo and also that I couldn't quite manage 25 with my left, and switched to); 3x10 Seated Dumbbell Curls, 20 lbs; and finally 3x10 Dumbbell Kickbacks, 20 lbs. Thursday: Winter was back in full-swing, snow on the ground and windy as hell, so I went down to my basement to awaken the monster. My treadmill is older than I am, with a crank to control speed and a "high-tech computer that calculates speed, distance and calories burned," which no longer works. When it's on, it makes so much noise that I cannot hear my laptop blasting music at full volume five feet away from me while I use it. So, it's big, it's old, and it's loud, but its top speed is still right at my natural stride and it ain't dying any time soon, so it's a godsend. I did 9 minutes running and 16 minutes walking on it. Friday: Lifting day again! I replaced the curls and kickbacks with 3x10 leg curls at 70 lbs and 3x10 leg extensions at 70 lbs, and added a 1x10 Sumo Deadlift at 130. I also got curious and after everything else was done, I did a set of 5 hundred-pound bench presses. Because I forgot to work my core Thursday, I went upstairs after that and did 10 sit-ups followed by 30 crunches. I also did what, according to Fitocracy, is 20 reps of Russian Twists. Saturday: It was snowing even harder than Thursday, so it was back to the monster. I didn't, however, just do the third day of Couch to 5K, I modified a little bit. I set my timer for a little too long, and finished my warmup with a little extra time on the clock, so I started with two minutes running, and since I did that fairly easily, I ended with it too, and due to losing track of time listening to music, two of my running periods got mixed up with walking, leaving me with a total of 11 minutes running and 15 minutes walking. I'm a little ashamed to admit that I forgot to work my core, though. Sunday: Today has mostly been resting and planning out my schedule which I will stick to from now on, but I did do 10 push-ups and 45 bicycle crunches. Also I posted my log. Some Pictures: The Monster:    Old, loud, and cranky. Also thin enough that if I don't hold on I swerve just enough to step off the track. But if i didn't have it there would be no way I'd be able to work on my running in an Ohio winter. Also I just realized how close that box is to my umprotected legs. I should move that. A Bunch of Weights:   Just the bench and all of the weights. It's my dad's bar that's racked right now, mine is the one on the floor in the second shot. The bars weigh about thirty pounds each, and the dumbbell bars are about five with collars.
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| # ? Feb 3, 2013 23:40 |
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Looking like a fine ground floor for a massive transformation here. But one question: where are your squats? I see leg extensions and lunges and curls, but no squats. You can't ignore squats! (and probably overhead presses too, may want to add those in somehow) EDIT: Wait, are you not doing squats or overhead presses because you don't have a squat cage and are training at home? You may want to replace them with dumbbell/goblet squats and seated DB shoulder presses, then. But you may want to save up cash for a squat cage if you've got the room for it. Squats are important for developing big legs.
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| # ? Feb 4, 2013 01:15 |
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The no squats thing is exactly because I don't have a squats cage. I thought that doing other exercises that target the same areas would be sufficient. I'm not particularly really looking to get big, in fact my big legs are something I want to get rid of, though I may not have made that quite clear enough in my OP. I also talked to a couple of my friends who lift regularly for sports and they said squats aren't that important. I also don't think I'd be able to afford a Squat rack in the slightest. If they really are that important though, I could probably build one. I'm friends with the metalworking/shop teacher at my school and I could get the scrap needed to build one fairly cheaply. Overhead Presses I'm mostly tentative about because I'm fairly tall and I would probable end up hitting the ceiling in my basement if I did them standing.
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| # ? Feb 4, 2013 02:29 |
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Raenir K. Artemi posted:
WHY WOULD YOU EVER WANT THIS TO STOP?! Thigh gap is for girls.  Also your thighs aren't meaty. Those look frigging tiny. Raenir K. Artemi posted:I also talked to a couple of my friends who lift regularly for sports and they said squats aren't that important. Your friends are quite possibly retarded, and/or bros. How often do they wear polo shirts and chug "brewskies"? Relevant to your gentlemen's sport: POWER IS GENERATED IN THE TORSO AND LEGS, NOT loving ARMS. Want better stamina, drop the weight, get more leg muscle. A large degree of upper body muscle is going to a) add unneeded weight to haul around and b) raise your centre of gravity, making your balance on reach shots and pivots worse. In short: loving squat. Gibbo fucked around with this message at Feb 4, 2013 around 04:10 |
| # ? Feb 4, 2013 03:56 |
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Yeah, your legs are tiny, the meatiest thing is your gut. Fix both of those with squats.
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| # ? Feb 4, 2013 04:10 |
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wasianchickn posted:squat.
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| # ? Feb 4, 2013 04:16 |
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Raenir K. Artemi posted:The no squats thing is exactly because I don't have a squats cage. I thought that doing other exercises that target the same areas would be sufficient. I'm not particularly really looking to get big, in fact my big legs are something I want to get rid of, though I may not have made that quite clear enough in my OP. I also talked to a couple of my friends who lift regularly for sports and they said squats aren't that important. I also don't think I'd be able to afford a Squat rack in the slightest. Your friends are loving retarded. Squats are one of the big 3. You can do front squats without a rack, but you'll have to up the volume a bunch because you'll be limited by what you'll be able to power clean up to position. Thigh gap is for anorexic girls. LOL meaty.
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| # ? Feb 4, 2013 04:17 |
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Started week 2 of C25K today, things went pretty well. I was feeling good about my stamina so I added an extra sixty seconds onto the last run. Ended up with 10 minutes running and 16 minutes walking. Afterwards I did 2x10 pushups, 3x15 bicycle crunches and then 1x10 leg lifts. Before my run I decided to check and see what I could clean consistently, and found that around 90 pounds was just the right number, so I've added 3x10 90 lb front squats to my leg days. Feel free to yell at me more about squats if this isn't enough. In regards to my friends, no, they aren't bros, they're just baseball players, and they may have just been trying not to discourage me when I mentioned not having the equipment to squat. They also mentioned knee damage, so their coach may also just be one of those guys who thinks that the risks from doing squats incorrectly outweigh the benefits. Also, in regards to this: Gibbo posted:Relevant to your gentlemen's sport: POWER IS GENERATED IN THE TORSO AND LEGS, NOT loving ARMS. I am dumb with words sometimes and probably should have worded the sentence about power as something like "I also need a little more arm strength, I can't accurately smash the ball crazy hard..." When I hit hard my control goes to poo poo because I don't have the forearm and wrist muscle to keep my racket flat on serves and spikes. I know power comes from the core, it's why I'm working my core even on rest days. But yeah, thanks to everyone who yelled at me about squats. I am going to do squats. Also to everyone who made fun of my thighs. I measured them and found that they're not that much bigger than average, but they're by no means tiny. It's a little self-esteem boost, at least. Raenir K. Artemi fucked around with this message at Feb 5, 2013 around 03:50 |
| # ? Feb 5, 2013 02:14 |
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Countless goons have figured out how to squat without their knees blowing up. Just admit that your friends don't know poo poo when it comes to lifting. If you want to get better at tennis, play more tennis. If you want to improve your tennis cardio, do more running/intervals so you're not gassed half way into a match. Also, there is no "average" for thighs. My thighs are 24" around, go look at em in my log. It's all about the composition of your thighs. Yours are enveloped in fat. Work on that. Russian Bear fucked around with this message at Feb 5, 2013 around 04:05 |
| # ? Feb 5, 2013 04:00 |
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Baseball players are the least athletic of any sports players, just so you know.
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| # ? Feb 5, 2013 04:10 |
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If access to a squat rack is the problem, there's other options for squats. Hack Squat http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCDFdNqg0I4 Front Squat/Zercher Squat http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdNq09EnNvA Goblet Squat http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKmrXTx6jZs That said, back squats do absolutely have their place and tend to be the core of many workout programs for good reason. Goblet squats especially can teach you great form and the proper depth for back squats, but they can't fully replicate the benefits of the movement.
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| # ? Feb 5, 2013 04:22 |
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Alright, first day of lifting with the new routine taught me a couple of things. First of all, I was a little too optimistic with my front raises, I can't quite manage 30, so I dropped the weight to 25. In addition to this, my wrists would start to give out after about 5 front squats or so, so I did six sets of five reps instead of three sets of ten. If I'm totally wrong and these aren't equivalent at all, I'll fix that in the future. In the end, my workout looked like this: 3x10 Dumbbell Bicep Curls, 20 lbs. 3x10 Dumbbell Kickback, 20 lbs. 3x10 Dumbbell Front Raise, 25 lbs. 3x10 Leg Extensions, 70 lbs. 3x10 Leg Curls, 70 lbs. 6x5 Front Squats, 90 lbs. 3x10 Calf Raises, +70 lbs. 3x10 Dumbbell Lunges, +70 lbs. I also ended up doing something like six ninety pound cleans after my wrists gave out the first time to see if I could clean and press the bar onto my back for proper back squats. The short of it is, I can't. I'm gonna say, like, three more things on my past stupids and then I'm gonna drop it. RE: My friends. Yeah, they're dumb about lifting and I won't be listening to them any more. RE: My thighs. Yes, they're fat. Not as fat as I thought they were, but fat. I don't want them to be fat and my stupid sense of self-image associated that with thigh gap. Upon actually looking at healthy men's thighs gap is not there, and now I know. Also, I realized going back to edit my post that I accidentally underlined some things I meant to strikethrough, which may have sent the wrong message to someone. That's also my bad.
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| # ? Feb 5, 2013 23:47 |
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| # ? May 24, 2013 01:09 |
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Raenir K. Artemi posted:
 KRILLIN IT
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| # ? Feb 15, 2013 18:05 |
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