# Stu's low carb journal



## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Aim: To be as lean as possible by Christmas 2010.

Training: Ideally 4 x weights and 5 x CV per week

Diet: Will be CKD-ish, although I'm not that concerned about entering ketosis. I don't get on well with carbs and they'll be restricted. Weekly clean carb up and occasional cheat meal (nothing for a month). I'll do different low carb things to try to experiment a little bit. Plenty of water.

Aiming for about 2000kcals a day, 180g protein and the rest fats.

Tracking: I'll weigh myself every Monday morning and take and post weekly front and rear pics. I'll also do monthly strength tests to gauge how much power / muscle is being lost.

Supplements: Aminos rather then whey for the most part, multivits and fish oils. I'll keep as many whole foods as possible.

This is as much for my own self-discipline as for interest for other people. I'm not particularly genetically gifted and have never been ultra lean (even when I've done this before, I only got partial abs), but interested to see where I can get to in 6 months.

BTW, I'm 38, 6ft and don't eat meat (only fish).

Starts today, first posts tomorrow........

5 July 219lb 21.6%

16 July 217lb 19.6%

23 July 216lb 21% (shows how volatile the bf% measurement is....)

5 Aug 211lb 19.6%


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## 1Tonne (Jun 6, 2010)

Good luck, subbed. Sure you'll reach your goals mate


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## onefatidiot (Sep 10, 2009)

Good luck mate


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## Guest (Jul 5, 2010)

Subbed mate, always taken on board and appreciated your advice and comments before so should be an interesting read.


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

What do you think? 10% bf? :whistling:

BTW, This was 15st 9lb (219lbs) or 99kg.

Scales said 21.7% bf for what it's worth, but should see a reduction week on week even if not absolutely correct.


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Monday 5th July:



I did chest and abs at the gym. 40min weights and 20min CV.

I don't want to kick the as* out of the CV to begin with, as I've got to leave myself somewhere to go when I eventually plateau.

Bench - 60kg x 10, 60 x 8, 100 x 8, 120 x 4, 120 x 4, 120 x 4, 100 x 6, 60 x10

Incline DB - 40kg DB x 8 (3 sets)

Cable X-over - 40kg x 10 (3 sets)

Pec dec - 49kg x 15 (3 sets)

Ab cable pull down - 95kg x 15 (3 sets)

20mins on stepper.


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Tue July 6th



Back at gym:

Deadlift 60kg x 10, 60 x 10, 100 x 10, 140 x 8, 160 x 4, 180 x 2, 100 x 10, 60 x 10

Low cable row: 95kg x 10 x 3

Wide grip lat pull 77kg x 8 x 3

Straight arm pull down 65kg x 10 x 3

Treadmill 20 mins

My split will be:

Mon - Chest

Tue - Back

Wed - CV only

Thu - Legs

Fri - Other

Sat & Sun - Rest

Had a MASSIVE thirst all day, which means body fat is beginning to be burnt. :thumb:


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## stevo99 (Nov 28, 2008)

could you possibly email me that template your using to log your food mate??


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

PM me your e-mail address. Be happy to. You'll need Excel.


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## stevo99 (Nov 28, 2008)

spot on, got excel, pm on its way


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## Raptor (Feb 16, 2010)

Good luck mate! No carb is the way forward


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Wed July 7th:



Didn't get to the gym today for my CV session. Not bothered as I'll chuck in a (small) road run at the weekend.

Good news is that the massive supply of chesse I've been eating rather than throw out is now finished. I'll keep cheese, but probably a low fat cheese so I can get fats from better sources.

Should keep me closer to 2000kcals too.


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

The Raptor said:


> Good luck mate! No carb is the way forward


Cheers, appreciate it.


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## stevo99 (Nov 28, 2008)

did u get my pm dude?


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

stevo99 said:


> did u get my pm dude?


In my fathandedness, I typed the wrong address. Should be good now.


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Thu 7th July:



Gym - Legs

Ham Curl 50kg x 10, 60 x 10, 70 x 4

Standing calf 121kg x 15, 178 x 10 x 2

Leg Ext 78kg x 10, 120 x 10 x 2

One leg seated calf - 115kg x 15, 124 x 15, 133 x 15

Leg press (ignore the weights) 100kg x 10, 180 x 10, 220 x 10

Squat 100kg x 10, 120 x 4, 140 x 2 to parallel.

Would usually have done squat first but some monster was at the squat rack doing something very strange with 130kg.


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Fri 9th July



Gym: Other

Mil Press 40kg x 10, 50 x 10, 60 x 10

Upright Row - Same

Front raise 20kg x 3

Lat raise 12kg x3

EZ Curl - 27kg x 10, 47 x 6 x 2

Skulls - Same

Cable Curl 30kg x 10 x 3

One arm tri reverse - same

Bike 20mins


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Sat 10th July



20 Mins road run to catch up from Wednesday.

Family BBQ today, with a room full of desserts, which frankly, I could have destroyed. Settled from a bite of a chocolate donut.

Carb cravings not too bad. I'll go until next Saturday before carb up. :thumb:


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Sun 11th July



No exercise today, and the biggest single meal all week consisting of tandoori king Prawn and satay prawns.


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## kingy_88 (Apr 13, 2009)

good luck mate


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## Ash1981 (Jun 16, 2009)

good luck with what you are trying to achieve

just a quick question...does a stronger thirst throughout the day really mean that bf is being burnt??????


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## stevo99 (Nov 28, 2008)

hows things going on this dude? any results yet?


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

ash1981 said:


> good luck with what you are trying to achieve
> 
> just a quick question...does a stronger thirst throughout the day really mean that bf is being burnt??????


I don't know scientifically, but in my experience of cutting, I've developed a fierce thirst when in caloric deficit and low carbing.


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Mon 11th July:

View attachment 42096


No gym today. Had to look after my son in the morning and make up the time in the afternoon.

Going to Geneva tomorrow for 3 days of work, so prey the gym isn't the usual hotel piece of cr*p. I'll take a picture if it's comical.

Progress (or no progress) pics:



Not much there, but then at high levels of bf, it all just gets lost. I'll weigh myself tomorrow morning if I remember at 5.15am before Heathrow.......


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

stevo99 said:


> hows things going on this dude? any results yet?


Not too bad, results will take time......

Spreadsheet useful?


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## stevo99 (Nov 28, 2008)

yeah very useful mate, just need to keep following it now and let that blubber burn


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## craftybutcher (Aug 10, 2009)

Hello mate.

Weigh yourself on Friday morning. If you've been dieting/exercising all week then you will get a better result than on a Monday after a cheat meal or lazy day :wink:


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

So, been away for 3 days in Geneva and haven't kept records of what I've eaten because it's just too much guess work.

I was pretty good with food and kept it as low carb as possible, but you can't track calories easily as you never know what fats the cooks are putting in the food. No gym and too much work meant no exercise.......

A few drinks one night for a leaving do probably didn't do my any favours, but a good friend leaving, so why not.

Back on it from today and i'll delay any sort of carb up / cheat meal until next weekend.

Weighed myself this morning, and I'll put the result on the front page to keep better track.


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

flanagan said:


> Hello mate.
> 
> Weigh yourself on Friday morning. If you've been dieting/exercising all week then you will get a better result than on a Monday after a cheat meal or lazy day :wink:


I'll save that trick for when I plateau.........


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## BrutalRaw (May 20, 2010)

Subbed ! ...

Good Luck with this Mate , be very Interested to see how quicky (Or Slowly) your BF % decreases just Keeping up this Low Carb Diet .

will be following your progress Closely , might even give it a go myself in time for Crimbo 2010 

Keep up the good work .

BR


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Fri 16th July



Training: I tried to compress all training into 1 session, but was knackered by the deadlifts through lack of carbs.....

Incline DB press 34kg x 10 x 3

Bench 100kg x 8, 120kg x 2, 90kg x 10

Squat 100kg x 10, 120 x 6, 140 x 2, 100 x 8

Deadlift 60kg x 10 x 2 (couldn't get past the warm-up!)

20mins stepper


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Sat 17th July



No exercise today. Went to someone's house for lunch, and couldn't really refuse the pasta.......


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Sunday 18th July



25 min run was the exercise today. Porridge in the morning as I'd run out of eggs. Hopefully should help a little in the gym this week......


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Monday 19th July



Gym:

Chest & Biceps

Bench

Incline DB

DB Flye

Cable x-over

OH Cable Curls

Preacher Curls

Cheat Curls

20mins on the bike


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Tue 20th July



Gym: Legs & Abs

Squat

Ham Curl

Standing Calf

Leg Ext

Seated Calf

Rope crunches

Leg raises

20mins on stepper


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## joe.b (Sep 26, 2009)

just found this thread spaytner,will watch with interest,good luckwith your goals buddy


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## Ordidge2 (Feb 23, 2010)

Good luck dude, subbed


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Thanks guys.


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Wed 21st July



Just CV today. 20mins treadmill jog, 20mins Bike.

Spoke with one of the trainers at the gym (Fitness First - Basingstoke), and he is cutting for a photoshoot. White fish and powdered greens for 2 weeks so far (with a steak for breakfast). Tough to do, but has was WAY ripped and vascular.....

May try it for a week in a couple of months time.....


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Thursday 22nd July



Back and Tri's:

Deads

B/O row

Seated Row

Lat Pull

Tri machine

One arm reverse grip tri

Bar push down

(Someone was using both fu*king EZ bars!)

No CV, as i like my Sunday run and I'm subbing that in for one of my 5 CV sessions per week.


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## ricdan (Jul 1, 2010)

spaynter said:


> Thursday 22nd July
> 
> View attachment 42343
> 
> ...


Subbed! Will follow with interest. Keep at it!

Was at the gym yesterday and needed to do squats, however, someone was using the squat rack for doing bench pressing even though the bench was free. :cursing: They did move when i asked kindly though. :thumbup1:


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Fri 23rd July



Gym today:

Mil Press

U/R row

BB Shrugs

Front raise

Lat raise

B/o raise

Wrist curls

Reverse wrist curls

20mins Stepper

Weight update on the first entry. 1 lb this week. Not impressive, but not enouigh data points yet. My first refeed in 3 weeks today too. Clean 200g of carbs today, and I'll do another 200g in the first 3 meals of tomorrow. All Brown rice and oats.

Planning to have a cheat meal next Friday.

Currently reading - Fats that Heal, Fats that Kill by Udo Erasmus (of Udo's Oil fame). Great read so far. Pics on Monday or Tuesday.

Scales aren't saying much, but I certainly feel leaner. Whether it will show in the pics in another matter......


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Sat 24th July



Rest day today.

Didn't have oats so had to slum it with Weetabix......


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Sun 25th July



45min road run in the evening. Just didn't get time to eat very much today. Wasn't planned, just happened.


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Mon 26th July



Chest & Bi's at the gym:

Bench

Incline DB

DB Flye

Cable x-over

Poser curls

Preacher curls

Cheat curls

I'll take pics tonight and post tomorrow. Can feel a little leaner, be interesting to see if it shows. I suspect not yet.


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Tue 27th July



Gym today:

Squat (had to stop a bit early as my back was sore)

Ham Curl

Standing Calf

Leg Ext

Seated Calf

Leg Press

Cable ab crunch

Leg raises

20mins stepper

Pics as promised:



Can't see anything yet, but, to be fair, I'm probably too fat to see discernable differences at this stage.


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## chelios (Jun 26, 2010)

Keep up the training and diet, will be keeping an eye on this mate.


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Wed 28th July



Gym:

BB Mil Press

BB U/R row

BB Shrug

DB Front raise

DB Lat raise

DB B/o raise

Wrist Curl

Reverse Wrist

Cable U/r row

Cable Front raise

20mins on bike

Should have been a rest day on weights, but can't do it tomorrow. Will go for a road run instead.


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Thu 29th July



Just a 45 min run today, and fewer meals because I was rushing around. Shouldn't make any difference when low carbing anyway.......


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## BrutalRaw (May 20, 2010)

Keep up the good work Man , youre doing very well sticking to it .

Subbed


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Friday 30th July

Gym:

Deads

T bar row

One arm DB rows

Lat pull downs

One arm tri reverse

Skulls

Rope push down

20mins bike

Not posting diet today because my one cheat meal in the month and I don't have any idea how many calories.....

Suffice to say LARGE chinese takeaway and most of a chocolate indulgence cake. Thought I was going to puke......

Next cheat, end of August.......


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Sat 31st July



No exercise today, and I thought I'd go very light on the food.

Reading 'Fats that heal, fats that kill' at the moment, and I'm going to make sure my oils are cold pressed, organic, etc. Good read.

Felt very full (the good full, not stomach full) this morning after cheat. Amazing how you look forward to it so much, and then it just makes so feel like sh*t afterwards......


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Sun 1 Aug



Again, light on the food, and I was planning a road run, but the athletics and a rough night the night before with our 7 month old put pay to that......


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Mon 2nd Aug



Gym:

Bench

Incline DB

Flat DB Flye

Cable x-over

Poser curls

Preacher EZ curls

Seated recline DB curls

20mins stepper

Better on the food today in terms of getting more in. I left breakfast a couple of hours this morning in an aid to early morning fat burning. May continue this, although means I can have my eggs because I can't do them at work.

May try it for a couple of days a week.


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Tue 3rd Aug



Gym:

Leg press (back too sore for squats)

Ham Curl

Standing Calf

Leg Ext

Seated Calf

Machine hack squat

Rope ab pulls

Leg raises

20mins Bike


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Wed 4th Aug



No weights today. 40min road run.

Got a bad sore throat, so hitting the vitamins hard and hoping it doesn't go pear-shaped.

One notch in on the belt today. A pretty good sign of fat loss.

Pics tomorrow, might even get on the scales......


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## ricdan (Jul 1, 2010)

Subbed. Doing well, keep it going!


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Thu 5th Aug



Gym:

BB Mil Press

U/r row

Cable Lat raise

Cable front raise

DB Shrug

B/O raise

DB front raise

Should press machine

No CV today

Pics -



Little visible progress as the difference between mid and mid/low 20's is difficult to pick up. However weighed myself this morning, and 211lbs. So around 8lbs in 4 and a half weeks. About right. Updated front page.


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Fri 6th Aug



Gym (had to be a short session) - Back & tris

Straight arm pull downs

Tri bar push

Close grip cable pull down

Tri machine

Wide grip lat pull down

Seated cable row

One arm tri pull down

10min treadmill fast run

Started clean carb after workout and wil aim to have ~500g in 24hours. Mostly brown rice. Did sneak a cheeky glass of wine in though. :thumb:


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Sat 7th August



Complete rest today. Completed carb up with rice and oats. Low carb from final meal.....


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## 1Tonne (Jun 6, 2010)

Keep it going mate, your doing good.


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Sun 8th Aug



Just a 40 min road run today. Low on food today to hopefully deplete liver glycogen for the week ahead......


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Mon 9th Aug



Work kept me out of the gym today, but I'll be brave and try to make it up with double cardio on Thursday.....


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Tue 10th Aug



Gym: Chest & Bis

Bench

Incline DB

Flat flye

Cable x-over

Poseur curls

Preacher curls

Cheat curls

20 mins bike


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Wed 11th Aug



Gym: Legs and Abs

Squat

Ham curl

Standing calf

Leg Ext

Seated calf

Rope ab pull down

Leg raises

20 mins stepper

Got some pre-workout samples sent through with a supplements order this week. Trying them out......

Today's was (badly marketed IMHO) 'Crack' - An addictive supplement the label said.....

Felt tingly during the workout, but did fvck all to my training.....


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Thu 12th Aug



Gym: Shoulders & Traps

Good session with a guy I'd never met before, but just doing the same stuff. Thanks Mick.

Mil Press

U/r row

BB shrug

DB Front raise

DB Seated lat raise

DB seated b/o row

Cable front raise

Cable lat raise

CV 40 min road run.My double CV never happened!



Progess pics. I reckon I've gone from mid to high 20s to mid low 20s. Difficult to see much progress, but you can see a little from week 1.

Reckon I've lost 10 pounds. I see real progress in my running (knocking minutes off the time) and the belt is a comfortable notch in.

I'm actually feeling great too. No reason to ever feel hungry if you're eating good quality protein and fats.


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Fri 13th Aug



Gym:

Seated row

Tri cable press down

Pull overs

One are tri underhand

Wide lat pull

Machine row

Took the last of the pre-workout supps samples. Useless.


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Sat 14th & Sun 15th August



Had a complete rest from exercise this weekend as I was feeling stiff and sore.

Back on it tomorrow.


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Mon 16th Aug



Gym: Chest & Bis

Bench

Incline DB

Flat flye

Cable x-over

Poseur curls

Preacher curls

Chest curls

20 Mins Bike.


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Tue 17th Aug



Gym: Legs and Abs

Squat

Ham Curl

Standing calf

Leg ext

Seated calf

Ab rope pulldown

Leg raise

20 mins cross trainer

Want to sort out my form on compound lifts and have an assessment with one of the trainers tomorrow. Wouldn't normally bother as the majority of the trainers at my gym have less than optimal physiques themselves, but this guys has competed and is a bit of a beast so should know what he's talking about!


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## Heineken (Feb 6, 2009)

Just read through, I'm doing a similar approach mate

Chest is def coming in

Will be keeping an eye on this one


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Wed 18th Aug



No weights today, but had an assessment with a trainer. I'd asked for him to sort out my form on deads and squat (which are pretty abysmal!).

He's going to sort me out and I'll have to drop a lot the weight to rebuild form, but I'm OK with that. I'm going to kill myself if I keep lifting like I do.

So, I'm off on a break next week and I'll do CV but no weights for a week (I need a break anyway) and then back into his program.

I'll give the highlights, but won't describe it in too much detail as it's his livelihood.

GVT here we come.......


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Thu 19th Aug



Gym: Shoulders and Traps

DB Shoulder press

Smith shrug

Smith behind neck press

Cable B/O raise

Seated lat raise

EZ bar upright row

BB front raise

Decided to cheat tomorrow after 3 weeks instead of the planned 4 as I'm not traing next week and won't need a carb up. I'll go 2 weeks without carbs and cheat next last weekend in September.


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Aug 20th, 21st & 22nd

Did back and tris in the gym on Friday and then had a cheat meal. Can't even begin to estimate the cals!

Saturday and Sunday away at a hotel, so don't really know consumption, but tried to avoid carbs where possible.


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Mon 23rd Aug



No gym all week as I'm on holiday (from work, not going anywhere) and want a complete gym rest of a week before throwing myself into the new program. Will do 2 or 3 runs.


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Tue 24th & Wed 25th



No gym as on week off. Would have had a run, but don't like running enough to want to get p*ss wet though......


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Thu 26th August



No gym and away for the bank holiday weekend with family, so no idea about intake. Will just take it easy and start again on Tuesday.


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Tues 31st Aug



Back to the gym today, but have managed to tweak a hamstring whilst on holiday. Not too bad and stuck to upper body.

Starting new program tomorrow.....

Bench

Cable x-over

Incline DB

BB Curl

Preacher machine

Chest machine

Cable curl


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Wed 1st Sep



Started with the new trainer today and the first session was stretching. Funnily enough, I feel more sore than after a good hard session!


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Thu 2nd Sep



2nd session at the gym, and we did some wacky sh*t. One legged cable squats and one leg sissy squats, etc.

Didn't lift a weight and my legs were like jelly.


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Fri 3rd Sep

I'm not going to post diet on here anymore as I know more or less by eye what I'm eating and am going to be doing some travelling with work, so I'd just be guessing.

Gym today:

Supersetted Deadlift (with proper form and slow tempo) with incline bench. Will build up to 10 sets of 10 (GVT), but only managed on my first attempt.

Finished off with wide grip chins and press up on ball.

I really like this functional stuff and proper form, because my old form was so bad, I was going to hurt myself.


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Mon 6th Sep

Had the weekend off, but today did:

Romanian dead lift - strict form

One legged Ham curls - strict

and then some external rotation stuff

Hams very sore this morning.


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## 1Tonne (Jun 6, 2010)

Hey Spaynter. Glad to see its still going solid. You havent (or i cant see) a BF% posting in a while. Not that numbers really matter much but your avi is looking lean. Any updates on this?

Keep it up mate, i dont post a lot, but im stealing info weekly as im going to do something similar around Febuary time and like you , carbs make me heavy and bloated.

Cheers mate.


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Tue 7th to Fri 10th September

Quick summary -

Tuesday - General & Leg work out involving one legged cable split squats and 'Poliquin' step ups. Amazing how very little weight can knacker you when using very slow tempo and strict form. Followed by the stretch program

Wednesday - Brutal arm workout

Tri set on triceps then tri set on biceps

Again very slow tempo and straight from one to the other my tris are still sore today.

Thursday - didn't manage to get there due to work

Friday - Super set Deadlift and incline DB. 10 sets of 10. Strict form slow tempo. F*cked. Followed by wide grip chins and ball press ups superset. My chins spotter was getting a nice front raise workout!


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

Sat 11th - Fri 18th September

Been away in Switzerland all week with work and no gym in the hotel. Have done nothing, and diet has been decidedly shakey due to limited food choices and either eating or starving!

Same next week, but hotel has a gym......


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## 1Tonne (Jun 6, 2010)

Hey man, hows the weight and BF levels coming along? Travelling for work can be a pain in the ass im sure.


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

So, after 2 weeks in Swiss hotels (one without a gym and one pretty limited), i'm back into it. Diet's been distinctly dodgy for the last 2 weeks with hotel food and group meals (where you don't get a choice as they're cooking for 30).

Did stretching followed by the brutal arms work out yesterday and streching and the hams and traps work out today. I think the 2 week stretch has put me back a bit, but i'll post some pictures next week to give me the chance to recover......


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