MMA

Just thought id tell all you who care about such things that I am going to Newcastle for UFC 80. My gf bought me tix for xmas and I could not be happier. And although I havnt got back into any kind of training I recently ran into an only "teacher" of mine who is going to get some sparring sessions together in my gym. Maybe I wont be getting taught anything but itll definatley do some good to spar once a week.

Training going well

As you may have guessed my training is going well, I havnt made many gains but i honestly havnt been expecting to. Im taking a week off for christmas (the week after xmas) and while im off im going to change my routine for the first time. Im doing this because i need to get more leg exercises into my routine, so i am going to cut out most of my arm exercises and focus on my compound lifts for my upper body and basically throw everything at my legs. I should only be doing this until i see some good improvements in my legs and then its back to what i know best.

Sony Sucks!

I truly believe sony is out to ruin my training, the bastards had to go and make the ps3 absolutley amazing....and for this reason i kinda missed all last weeks training. To be fair to myself though I do kinda need a bit of time off because I have been working 7 days a week for over 2 months now. No.... that is actually a crap excuse because it wouldnt have strained me at all to go to the gym, im just trying to justify it.lol.
I have been training twice this week so far though, both yesterday and today, and everything seems to be going just as well as a week ago. But i noticed that it is very difficult to bench anything heavy without anyone spotting you. I tried to bench 100kg without a spot for the first time and I could only do 4 reps by myself, i felt that i had enough for a fifth and maybe a sixth with some help, but i mentally couldnt bring the bar down because I didnt want to crush myself. anyone else ever get this?lol........oh and if anyone knows any mma (particularly bjj) clubs around glengormley or belfast could you please tell me where they are. really wanna roll....actually really miss it

Legs

To be honest I think im happy with the strength of my upper body at the minute, having started weight chin ups/dips and hitting the 100kg bench mark....but looking at my legs kind of depresses me. For the first year and a half or two years of my training I neglected my legs....because I was stupid basically. Now I am trying my best to get them up to speed with my upper body and at least get a bit of size into them. I do my legs on Tuesdays and my exercises are as follows;

Squat
Calf Raises
Leg Press
Deadlifts

This may not seem like alot, but I am pressed for time at the minute and I can only get the main exercises in. I am however throwing in some extra deadlifts on friday as part of my back training to try and get that extra boost I desperatley need.

Cardio

I know alot of people love to jump on a treadmill and run for ages...and every so often I would usually get the need in my head to do it. This is probably what makes people not go to the gym though, because after 5 minutes of running in the same spot I get very annoyed and bored. I kind of feel like a hamster in its wee wheel, and I dont like feeling like a hamster.lol
Safe to say, I no longer do any cardio of that type. No running or cycling or whatever in the gym. The only cardio I have done in the past 6 or so months is through some martial arts classes, although they were in my last gym so I havnt been doing anything for a while but im looking for a new place to go. The fact is, going to these classes is interesting and you will never get bored, unless you hate martial arts. There is also the fact that doing muay thai or brazilian jui jitsu training will wear you out alot faster than running on a machine and it is teaching you to defend yourself. Trust me, it may look easy rolling about the floor with someone, but when you have to use all your strength to try and control the other person with absolutley no resting period you will get very tired, very quick, and hence very fit. Try it...or not, its up to you.

Lifts Complete

Ok, so another week is over and I now know what im lifting on everything so just though i'd put it all up.

Bench Press - 100kg x 5
Shoulder Press - 55kg x 10 (dumbells)
Pull Ups - BW + 15kg x 7
Dips - BW + 25kg x 8
Squat - 100kg x 6
Deadlift - 120kg x 5

These exercises only account for a quarter of my weekly routine, but I put them up as they are the most important......and who honestly is going to want to read all 24 exercises I do.lol. But, if you do want to know any others just ask.

Bench Getting Better?

Ok, so today I did my bench press with yet another new bar which 2 guys, one of who works there, told me was a 20kg bar. If this was right then my bench just hit a landmark of 100kg (for 5 reps) and I am over the moon....BUT I dont actually belive its true because that means my bench has went up 10kg in 2 weeks. 3 weeks ago, before I took my holiday, I was benching 90kg (for 8). Last week I benched 95kg (for 4, although I actually thought it was 85kg), and today I benched 100kg for 5. As much as I would love this I really dont think I would gain strengh like that in a week. Has anyone else had any experiences like this?

Week Finished, No More Boyweight Exercises

Ok so the first week back is done and I honestly feel great, the week off has done me wonders. My dip belt finally came so I got to do some pull ups and dips with it on friday.

Pull Ups - BW + 15kg x 6

Dips - BW + 25kg x 8

Honestly its alot harder to do these exercises with the extra weight than youd think, but i prefer it. I hate having to do about 20 dips in a set, it makes you feel like your not getting anywhere, and honestly you just dont want to do that many and keep going.lol. Found out that the bar I used on tuesday weighs 20kg so,

Bench Press - 95kg x 4

Delighted with that btw

Day 2, Feeling Sore

The pain isnt anything I havnt felt before by any means, but when you kinda have to walk funny because you did your legs last night you feel like a dick. Its always the worst around the bottom of my ass cheeks aswell, which makes the walking ever more John Waynesque. My chest isnt too bad though, although trying to do dips tonight I did feel like crying...."just get over it you bitch".
I have two lifts to put up tonight and im not massivley impressed by myself by either of them, but here they are;

Shoulder Press - 27.5Kg x 6 (dumbells)

Dips - Body Weight x 20

I know I said I had a dipping belt to do that bodyweight stuff, but the day I went to get it the bastard Totally Fitness shop hadnt got any, and as far as im aware noeone else in Belfast sells them. Ill just have to get them off the net, hopefully by friday so I can do pull ups and more dips (dips today were wider grip for shoulders and closer grip on friday for triceps).

1st Day Back

Ok, so I had my first day training after a week off.....and I honestly havent felt a pump like it in ages. Damn do I wish I could go back to when I first started training when it felt that every time, lol.
I had planned to get some figures of what im lifting up tonight but because I have no idea what the two black bars in my gym weigh I cant (first day in new gym, kinda). I should be telling you my squat, chest press and deadlift, but ill definatley get them next week or even tomorrow when I ask someone what it does weigh. Kinda scared to though because ive either lost a bit of strength in my chest somehow or possibly gained a bit.....if its the latter then im very happy btw.
Diet isnt going to well, had cheese sodas for breakfast, ham and cheese sambos (brown bread) for lunch, peanut butter sambo before gym and when I got home I ate a snickers.lol. Hopefully get back on the protein shakes soon, to make up for the lack of a protein filled diet

The Beggining Looms

Its only a few days away that i start my training afresh after a week off, and even though i have been lifting for 2 years, it seems as though im starting from the beggining again. Probably because of the fact ill be recording and monitoring my work outs and posting them for all to see.lol.
Hopefully ill have some of the weights im lifting up by tuesday continuing to friday when my full body will be done. I most likely wont have max lifts as I never have a spotter to help me with such a task and im not stupid enough to do it alone, but ill have up what im lifting in my sets of about 6 or 8.
To help my workouts I have bought a dipping belt, ill never get stronger doing body weight stuff....and I just want to look more macho by having one, not that I dont look macho already.lol

Diet

My diet isnt exactly what it should be, but honestly I dont think it affects me. I may only be 20 years old, but I get away with eating pretty much anything I want without putting on any weight.
I have been between 11 and 11.7 stone for a year and a half, and I even tried experimenting with creatine to put on a bit of weight. Strange as it may seem the creatine had no effect on my weight, size or strength. This could have been due to me not taking enough of it, but I honestly couldnt tell you because I did exactly what it said on the tin.
Many people out there are trying to put on weight and therefore eat less and eat in a more controlled fashion, but I am not putting myself in any sort of strict diet...at least not for the minute. I honestly wouldnt say that I have a bad diet though, I eat chicken breast almost every night for dinner (the gf only eats chicken, lol) and lean ham or tuna sandwiches alot for my lunch, except pay day when ill get a burger king or something. Apart from that ill eat pretty much anything, but i do try and limit the amount of fizzy drinks I have and have been of the liquer for about 3 months now (nothing to do with training though).
This lack of a controlled diet could affect my training and I will eventually become a part of the diet club, using Neil McTeggart's diet plan (www.neilmct.com) of course, but for now ill stick to what im doing.

Routine

Well my routine isnt exactly perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but I thought id put it up anyway.

Monday - Chest and Legs

Wednesday - Shoulders and Biceps

Friday - Back and Triceps

Its basic but I have all the primary exercises in there (bench press, squat, dips etc.). I will always do 4 exercises on each body part and try and hit the muscle groups with different angles on each exercise. Honestly id like to change my routine but it has done me well in the past 2 years so I would be afraid to change the layout incase the it did not yield any results.

Me In Numbers

I thought id put up my measurements now and every 6 or so weeks ill update them, along with my heaviest lifts. I wont have my lifts up until my first day back at training and then they will come up gradually during the week depending on what exercises I did.
Back to the measurements though, they are on the right hand side of my blog. But I must tell you that they probably arent the most accurate as they are taken with a tape measurer used for construction and not human body measurments.lol. Just wanted to put something up though.

Hi Everyone...if anyones there. I honestly have no idea what im going to put on this blog but i decided to start it up and see what becomes of it. The main idea of it is to track the progression of my weightlifting, even though I would say theres not going to be much to track, but lets see how it goes. Im taking a week off starting Monday 15th before I rejoin Fitness First Newtownabbey, so from Monday 23rd I will start to put up how my training is going and if I can stick to any sort of real diet. Until then ...