Hey guys, I've been going to gyms irregularly, working out but only failing to commit to my workout/diet plan. Only to realise that because I didn't have a log. So I'm starting one here, cuz I kinda frequent LYN. I've learnt a lot from LYN, not just health and fitness and I hope that maybe sharing my experience, skinny people like me don't have to waste time wandering and failing to commit to plans but get the best out of them instead. I'm just starting out but I definitely owe LYN a lot, so I hope to give back to LYN (some day, with results), the same way a lot of the experienced lifters here have shared their insight!


Body Type : Ectomorph (with endomorph tendencies, belly fat enveloping ab outlines)
Height : 180cm
Weight : 58kg
Body Fat : no idea, but according to BMI, it's 17.9 - UNDERWEIGHT.
Goals :
Hit 65kg before June 2010 with at least the outline of my used-to-be abs
Get stronger and lift heavier, increase in muscle mass
No longer look like skin n bones wit a tummy by end of this year.

31/3/10


7/6/10 - before stopping 5x5


15/8/10




At the moment I am starting out on Stronglifts.com's 5x5 strength training. Chose it because of its simplicity and because I complicate plans that have more isolation exercises instead of those incorporating compound movement. Today, until the end of this week (hopefully) or the next, my goal is to fix my form in the exercises involved ie squats, DL, inverted row etc.. It's not easy because I've never really done free weights, I used to do machines a lot. Anyways, I really appreciate any form of constructive criticism and comments! Thanks for even bothering to read this!

Monday, 1/2/2010

0835 - My morning ritual of cup of fresh fruit juice (self made) and protein+meal replacement shake (25g of protein)
0920 - Wantan mee small. Barley kurang ais.
1200 - 2 slices of leftover pepperoni pizza. reheated.
1330 - A few slices of wholemeal bread to tank the hunger
1500 - Rice, spinach, bitter gourd scrambled eggs, kunyit fish
1730 - Preworkout - 2 water fryed eggs, spinach, a bit of wholemeal bread
2000 - Workout time!
2100 - Post workout - protein+meal replacement shake, red bean bun
2145 - Bak kut teh

Workout (did not follow the stronglifts plan exactly, big mistake - but I'll explain why)

Squats
Empty bar (20kg?) 5/5
Added 2.5kg each side, 25kg 5/5/5
(wanted to check my form under stress, and without stress)
Note: I only did partial squats, slightly under parallel to knee level. My back is not rounding, I extend my hips out to lower myself but I dont feel the muscles on hamstring and glutes contracting.. squatting not deep enough?

Bench Press
Empty bar (20kg?) 5/5
Smith Machine 5/5/5
(changed to smith, cuz I was worried my form was wrong)

Inverted Row
Could not find a place to do.. Not sure what to replace this with, but I did lat pull downs

Push ups 8/8/6

Reverse Crunches (not really sure how to do, still learning)
Went with Decline crunches 12/12/12


Very bad way to start off the week. I think I'll actually seriously 100% stick to the plan after CNY, for now it's learning proper form. Please comment! Thanks!

PS: It's my first time working out at a ghetto gym, Iron Gym Fitness at Desa Setapak (v2 that row, above carrefour express) - felt very intimidated (hence the weird workout behaviour) and I don't have a gym partner. No excuses though, hope to get to know the people there more often. I cycle between Iron Fitness and Top Gym, both on the same row of shops.

This post has been edited by cheezzzz: Aug 15 2010, 03:42 PM

Yeah I read somewhere Ken doesnt support smith machine as it restricts and confines the body to a fixed movement n so forth.. I wanna learn, but it isnt easy tho hhaha.. still learning.
Ooo really?? sure! I will! what time do u usually go and workout? and how do u look like lol, i've never seen your picture xD

Majinity : oh yah forgot to write, it takes me 10+ minutes to walk up the gym from the LRT station.. my blood's already pumping before I enter the gym lolol Yeah good luck to u too! Happy lifting!

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Added on February 3, 2010, 9:22 pmDid not get enough rest the previous night, woke up and felt like puking everytime I ate something. Good thing is today's one of the better days where I actually did not feel the hunger/slight starvation at all. Got better around lunch time though, thank god.

Wednesday, 3rd February 2010

0710 - Morning ritual, cup of fruit juice, protein shake
0930 - Hong kong Chee cheong fun, prawn n char siu
1220 - Chicken rice, a loooong slice of papaya
1530 - Pre WO - Fistful of rice with 1/2 fist full of rendang chicken
1430 - Workout time!
1800 - Post WO - 3 half boiled eggs, 1 wantan mee, 1 glass soy bean milk
2010 - Rice, kunyit fish and some yau mat (yau choi, vegetables)
2100 - Actually starting to feel a bit hungry as I type this x.x


Today's workout was even worse. I actually went into a gym without a squat rack. Yeah, I didn't go to Iron Gym today, was at TopGym, same row, just go along the row, up the hill. lol doing stronglifts 5x5 where every workout consists of 5x5 squats and there wasnt even a rack. At least there was an empty bar for me to practice form. Thats what I plan to achieve by this week at least, to improve my form.

Squats 5x5
Empty bar 20kg
Note: This gym has more mirrors, was easier for me to see my back as i went down. Noticed i had issues going lower that parallel level, back starts to round. Any idea how to fix that? Also after 2 workout days, the area next to my traps (on my shoulder blades?) hurts when i touch it, basically where u rest the bar. Is that supposed to happen? x.x Maybe I even placed the bar wrongly lol

Overhead press 5x5
Barbell 2.0kg (i think) + 5.0kg = 7.0kg
Still working on form. Yet to put on the real weights.

Deadlift 1x5
Empty bar 20kg
Wrong grip.Form was quite bad also, not really sure how low to go. Ill get someone to video soon cuz it's really harrd to explain my poor form.

Chin-up 1x8
2 more sets I didn't manage to do, had ppl hogging the chin up bar area with the cables x.x

Prone bridges 3x30sec

I need a gym partner... sigh. No money for PT lol. Oh right, tummy calling. Gonna head for some oats and protein powder

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Added on February 5, 2010, 7:54 pmToday's workout was better. Diet.. could be better. First time I did inverted rows cuz there was no one at the gym woot! otherwise those smith machine addicts would be starring at me using the bar just for a bodyweight exercise xD

Friday, 5th February 2010

0730 - Protein shake
0800 - Full cream milk 250ml w 1 gardenia bun
0930 - Fistful of rice/vege/small serving of chicken, 1/4 slice of a pineapple
1200 - Pre workout - 1 gardenia bun (rushing cuz gym might close at 1 for lunch)
1220 - Workout time!
1320 - Post workout - protein shake
1340 - 1/4-1/2 of a honeydew
1450 - Lunch - Pan mee with meatballs, soy bean milk
1800 - 1/2 slice of bread w protein + oats
1840 - Rest.FREAKING TIRED.
1945 - Dinner. Fistful of rice/vege/meat xD


Squats 30kg 5/5/5/5/5
First time adding more weight, after having practised form. Still working on it, not all the reps are done absolutely with proper form. Includes not full deep squats, but pushed for deep ones 2nd set onwards. Feeling the burn.

Bench Press 20kg 5/5/5/5/5
Getting a bit better but still not too sure on how to stabilize the bar. My forearms, shoulders feel the burn more than the chest does. Not good.

Inverted Rows 10/8/8
First time doing, not sure whether done correctly. Grip may be wrong, or I may not be entirely using my back. Felt the head leading first at times.

Push Ups 10/7/6

Reverse Crunches 12/12/12
Screw normal crunches! This actually hurts way more than regular ones do.. At my 8th rep on 1st I was already yelling cuz of d strain lolol

This post has been edited by cheezzzz: Feb 9 2010, 09:09 AM

Monday, 8th Feb 2010

0820 - Fruit juice, protein shake
0930 - 3 Half boiled eggs, 1 bread
1210 - Workout Time! (did not had pre WO cuz very full, bought potato bun just incase though)
1300 - Post WO, Protein Shake
1330 - Pan mee with shredded pork, pork meatball and fried dumpling, soy milk
1650 - 250ml HL milk with potato bun
2045 - Dinner, fistful rice/vege/fish. Chinese meal ate outside. Caused a diarrhoea though.. rest of the night sucked.


Diarrhoea aside. Workout was not too bad.

Squats 5/5/5/5/5
Weight : 32.5kg

Overhead Press 5/5/5/5/4
Weight : 20kg
Arms gave in at the last rep

Deadlift 5
Weight : 30kg
Grip was wrong I think, supposed to 1 face in 1 face out right? x.x

Chinup (Negatives) 7/5/4

Prone Bridges 3x30sec



This post has been edited by cheezzzz: Feb 11 2010, 07:40 PM

Wednesday, 10th Feb 2010

0720 - OJ, Protein shake
0930 - Rice with mild vege curry with tofu and chicken in black sauce, fistful portions
1230 - Chicken rice with long beans
1415 - Workout time!
1545 - Post WO - Protein shake
1645 - 2-3 Half boiled eggs + Milk
1900 - Rice/vege/meat fistful servings each
2230 - Protein powder w oats


Workout today was bad. Only got about 5 hours of sleep, slept at 2. Big mistake #1. Which led to fatigue, even after doing hip warmups, glute activation and squat stretch, I could not do squats due to my hamstring pain. Still hurting from Monday's deadlifts. Attempted 1st set of 5 squats, lower back started to hurt at the last rep. Failed halfway through 2nd set.

Squats 5/2/x/x/x
Weight : 35kg

Bench Press 5/5/5/5/5
Weight : 30kg

Inverted Rows 8/7/7

Push-ups 10/9/7


This post has been edited by cheezzzz: Feb 16 2010, 12:33 AM

gong hei fatt choi! am actually just updating my log, forgot to do so the last session which was last friday. due to cny! anyways, i actually got to continue my workout today, cant rly rmb the diet so Ill just post up workouts!

Friday, 12th Feb 2010

Squats 5/-
Weight : 32.5kg
could not perform, DOMS x.x posture was just all wrong, also maybe cuz lack of rest x.x

Overhead Press 5/5/5/5/5
Weight : 22.5kg
Starting to love this exercise

Deadlift 5
Weight : 35kg
Grip was wrong wth. Bak may have rounded witout me noticing x.x

Chinup (Negatives) 5/5/5

Prone Bridges 3x30sec

Monday, 15th Feb 2010

Now for the CNY workout that i did not expect.. seriously.

Front squats 5/5/5/5/5
Weight : 20kg on ez bar

Bench Press 5/5/5/5/5 Replaced with 5x5 power cleans (oops)

Inverted Rows 8/7/5

Push-ups 10/8/6

Reverse Crunch 12/12/12

YEAH now gotta eat n sleep well.. toughest part of all haha..

current stats, reminder as of 19 Feb 2010

Squats : 32.5kg
OHP : 22.5kg
BP : 30kg
DL : 35kg

gonna slow down on the increments on the DL..

lower back is fine actually, hamstrings suffered from real bad DOMS. need to rest more n use foam roll d haha.. thank God i was sick the past few days to give enough recovery time. Once im alright, im gonna hit the gym again, thats why I kept my stats as reminder haha. going slow on the DL increment to work on form haha, my form is ok but i always worry about it, and i have a bad habit of using non-mixed grip, both face in, instead of 1 in 1 out haha. not good.

also considering front squat or overhead squats over back squats cuz i have a tendency to lean forward when i squat.

just recovered from a fever.. no appetite.. diet is a mess.. feeling extremely lethargic.

pray ill recover and get back in shape to hit the bars.. i miss lifting

IM BACK. maybe not bigger or stronger, but at least recovered. Today's logg!


1100 - overslept.good sleep tho. had 3-5 medium sized pancakes.
1230 - pancaking snacking, 1-2 to tahan till i had lunch
1420 - lunch/pre WO - rice,vege,chicken.2:1:1 ratio
1610 - WORKOUT TIME
1720 - post WO protein shake
1830 - post WO small meal, almost 2 fistful rice + a few potato (hungry n took d leftovers of lunch)
1910 - dinnerr which should be rice/vege/chicken 2:1:1
supper should be slice of cheese wit oats, or a shake.


thank God for fixing me up, hitting the gym has never felt better!

Front Squats 30kg 5x5
Will post up the video soon, wana ask u guys if my form is alright..


Overhead Press 25kg 5/4/4/3/3
Its starting to stall..

Deadlift 40kg 1x5
Got the video too! need to ask u guys if form is alright too..


Pull-up negatives 5/5/5

Prone bridges 3x30sec

pls comment on my form! thankss!

This post has been edited by cheezzzz: Feb 26 2010, 07:12 PM

hahah I got my dad to video my form, went to the gym at the club he attends. Thanks for your kind comment.. working on not locking though. I feel DOMS is gonna haunt me for the next few days.. time to research trigger point recovery hehe

bloody DOMS.. hope i recover in time for monday's WO. a bit on today's diet.


0850 - protein shake
0920to1000 or so - snacking on mandarin orange and an egg while waiting for bfast
1040 or so - satay,bit of rice..food at PKR cny open house
kept eating bit by bit till 1300-1400
1415 - lunch,fish/rice/vege 2:1:1
1530 - cny titbits.. lou sang,chicken floss etc.
1825 - Snack - 1 n 1/4 homemade ramly burger
1920 - Dinner chicken and also egg/rice/vege 211 ratio again
2240 - 1/2 bowl yoghurt + orange

may eat a slice of cheese if still hungry. or drink a cuppa milk.

did a bit of foam rolling today, legs don't hurt so much already. stretching is important! something I tend to forget haha.. not going to anymore.anyways rough log of today's diet

0920 - protein shake
1000 - pan mee dry
1400 - was freaking stuffed, lunch was rice/fish/vege 211 ratio
1700 - 1 medium sized bowl of oats w bits of a pao
1910 - dinner was rice/fish/vege 211 again
2230 - leftover oats, 3/4 bowl of yoghurt w a banana


hope i get enough rest tonight so I can lift again tomoro!

managed to workout.. foam rolling rocks!

0900 - protein shake
1045 - pre WO bowll of oats
1215 - banana right before WO
1330 - post WO shake, few red bean buns
1445 - 2 slice of pizzas,salad
did not eat cuz lunch was a killer, felt damn full.
2200 - nasi lemak ayam

hate today's diet.


anyways, workouttt.


regular squats 35kg 5x5

bench press 32.5kg 5/5/-/-/-
I failed, left side of the bar landed on me as my arms gave in

Inverted rows 8/7/8
I think Im doing this wrong.. i dont feel the burn on the lats like I do with chin ups n pull ups, anyone got videos on this? apart from defranco's.

Push-ups 10/8/7

Reverse Crunches 3x12


Not the best workout. Actually one of my worst..

This post has been edited by cheezzzz: Mar 2 2010, 07:20 AM

THIS IS WHY YOU SHOULD ALWAYS POST YOUR LATEST STATS ON A REAL LOG U CARRY AROUND.

SO U DONT MESS YOUR WORKOUT LIKE I DID TODAY.

breakfast - shake + 1 pau
lunch - fried rice with chicken n 1 egg
workout!
post WO - shake + rice/chicken/vege 211
dinner - rice/chicken/vege 211
supper - small bowl yoghurt with whatever fruit i can find

squats
35kg x 4
37.5kg x 1 yes this is when i realised i was not lifiting enough

ohp
25kg 5x5 (is the overhead press suppose to feel like a military press, except standing up?)

deadlift
45kg 1x5
note: it IS harder with the bar 20cm from the ground and close to your shin.. i felt my forearms working. not good. gonna challenge this again, if fail, gotta challenge 42.5kg DL. WITH PROPER HEIGHT FROM THE GROUND.

chin ups negatives 9/7/6

prone bridges 3x30 sec


i may need to re evaluate my form.again.

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Added on March 3, 2010, 9:50 pmsquats 37.5kg
deadlift 40kg
ohp 25kg
bench 30kg

as of today 3/3/10

This post has been edited by cheezzzz: Mar 3 2010, 09:50 PM

march 5th 2010

breakfast - shake
late breakfast-snack - chicken rice
lunch - rice,bit of fish, bit of mango kerabu, thai food basically
that was my pre WO lol.
post WO right after WO - shake
post WO after shower - bit of pineapple fried rice, two half boiled eggs
dinner - rice,pork,vege 211
supper - yoghurt small bowl


Workout was pretty okay, a bit demanding cuz I was rather tired. but quite good la. Replaced bench press with negative dips. I reckon I did something wrong there. neways.

Squats 37.5kg 5x5

Dips (negatives) 6/5/6/5/5

Inverted Rows 8/9/7

Push ups 8/6/6 (dips killed me)

Reverse Crunches 3x12


Can dips be used to replace bench press? Ive been doing a lot of research on this, lotta ppl stopped benching since they did dips. But then again I still can't really do them. I only swapped cuz the bench was occupied

yeah it sud b 20cm off the ground, which is the radius of the 20kg plate. i cant possibly do 20+20 +20(empty bar) just yet hahaha thats friggin 60kg DL man, now 45 oso stall d hahha..

from stronglifts forum, where some dude commented on my form as well..

Deadlift -- overall pretty good. However, until you're using 20kg plates, stack something under the plates (e.g. other plates on their side) so that the bar is about 20cm off the ground. Next, ensure the bar is a little closer to your shins at the start. You want the bar to be roughly over the middle of your foot. Third thing: avoid the mixed grip unless you must use it to complete the lift. Using a double overhand grip will help work your grip strength. Last thing, if you can train barefoot or in flat soled shoes, you'd be better off.

Squat-- overall I thought it looked good. The bar seemed to be over your center of gravity, you kept a pround chest and a good back arch. As with the deadlift, you may want to try barefoot if the gym allows it, or else something other than cushioned running shoes.

PRE-WO STRETCH BEFORE SQUATS. IMPORTANT.

Hip Abduction

and

Glute Stretch

this glute stretch alone can make me hurt like mad.. damn.. my glutes are freaking weak.or maybe just dormant for too long.

and hamstring stretches done before deadlifts..

Standing Hamstring Stretch

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Added on March 10, 2010, 6:29 pmtoday's workout was awesome. learnt lotta things from kege, another lyn forumer haha. been training for a month so far, following stronglifts 5x5, having some flesh growing, instead of just being stick and bones. However overlooked a really important factor.

8. You train with the intensity of a arthritic old lady.

I honestly think I do. people finish their last rep with forced reps, like they're dying or something.. I just survive my workout.. clearly not pushing myself. I didn't push so much before this to learn the form.. now that form has improved, time to push for more. A LOT more. Anyways today's WO

Squats 5x5 42.5kg
(apparently if I can do more than 6-8 reps, that's too light, and I actually could if I want to.)

Bench Press
Empty bar x 6-8
32.5kg x 2
40kg x 3

Inverted Rows (along with Lat Pulldowns)
8/6/6
60lbs x 3 (done till failure, around 6 reps average)

Push ups 10/8/8

Reverse Crunches 3x12

This post has been edited by cheezzzz: Mar 10 2010, 06:29 PM

taking a break from working out for now, piled with assignments and tests.

scheduled to kick back on either 26/3 or 29/3

did a bit of exercise yesterday cuz I felt really stiff.

a few good mornings

1 x F Air Squat
3 x F Push-ups 10/10/10

Ahhh feels so good to hit the bar again!
was one of my better workouts inawhile.pushed harder,eating a bit better and hope to get better rest tonite.oh only prob today was I shouldve had a bigger pre WO meal..neways any advice on my diet n workout?

Todays food and workout log..

Breakfast - 2 apple blend w 1 scp protein n 1 scp milo, 3 eggs, 1 big pc wholemeal bread w peanut butter
Snack/pre WO - 100g beef,minced,stir fried, 250ml milk
Post WO/Lunch - bit of rice w bit of vege, 2 eggs, 100g beef again
Snack - fruits (honeydew today),250ml milk
Dinner - fruits or vege, with 100g meat,250ml milk
Supper - 250ml milk with fruits or vege (if gotla)

Using a calorie calculator I need an estimate of 2600 kcals to put on weight.with the this diet above..is that even 2600??

Workout log!

Squats
Empty bar 20kg x 5
40kg x 5
45kg x 5
50kg x 5 x3

Overhead Press
Empty bar 20kg x 5
25kg x 5
27.5kg x 5
30kg x 5 x3
(Started to stall when using 30kg,time to use 27.5 again and lift at a moderate speed and better form)

Deadlift
40kg x 5
45kg x 5
- feel my form is poor, as tho I'm lifting but not burning my hams enough.isn't deadlift supposed to leave you dead or at least almost,when you're finishing your last rep?any advice on DLs anyone?

Pull ups
15 kip/momentum quarter way pull ups (all d way is full ma,quarter is 1/4 haha)
9 negatives
6 negatives
3 negatives

That's about it for today,any advice guys? Lifting is all about form,hope to improve my form b learning from d pros here!

hmm.. ill try to push harder.. im just worried about form.. so basically as long as my back doesnt round and the setup is all ok, and i lift like i want do a pelvic thrust, driving my heels into the ground - should be ok? ill try to push for heavier hehehe

Majinity: bro! push your squat too haha! thanks for motivating me to push more, u should to on your squats, if it doesnt hurt your glutes.. its too light! i realised i have to put heavier weights to feel it on my glutes. u can try it remember to do glute activation before squatting!