Monte's Log, Featuring a Debate About Dotard Genetic Potential with an Ant
Brief Background
Long time lurker who recently registered. I'm 31 years old, 6'4", and 220 pounds. When I graduated college 10 years ago, I was the same height, but weighed 165 pounds. After college, I found the gym and packed on a lot of muscle over the subsequent 2 year period of working out, but did the typical broish bench/curl-centric exercise routine while rarely squatting or deadlifting (i.e. I maxed out at 330 benching and 235 squatting). Since then, I've periodically gotten back in the gym for six months or a year at a time, but never consistently.
Recent Workouts
Recently I've been doing 3 sets of 40 pushups and a total of ~25 pullups 4-5 times a week, and also playing squash a few times a week. Since beginning squash (which is very high impact), I've been having periodic weakness/pain in my right knee, but other than that no issues except chronically tight hamstrings.
My Plan
This is yet another starting SS log; I'll be doing the version with pullups/chinups and without PCs (at least to start), but I will be deadlifting for the first two weeks or so until my gains start to level off. I've read the book and the wiki, and I'll be starting on Monday. I've purchased the appropriate lifting shoes and chalk, and I'll be doing foam rolling on my problem areas post-workout. I also plan to purchase Assess and Correct or something similar shortly in order to work on my flexibility issues.
My diet is pretty decent, with a lot of skim milk/oatmeal/protein bars/lean meats/veggies on my good days (at work), with the occasional pizza and beer meal thrown in (usually weekend). I haven't been doing daily tracking, but I plugged in an average day and I'm around 2800-3000 calories with around 150 grams of protein a day.
My Goals
This log is mostly for motivation. I'm not entirely sure but I would guess my body fat percentage is somewhere between 20 and 25%, so I guess I'm shooting for recomposition. I don't have many specific goals in mind. My main goal is to get stronger, especially in my lower body (maybe get my combined deadlift+squat+bench to 1000 lbs). I'd also like to tighten up my midsection and lose the 15 or so pounds of extra weight I'd guess I'm carrying around my gut.
Questions
-I'm assuming I should up my protein intake? I'm not really sure what my LBM is exactly, but if I use the 1.5 g/lb LBM I should up the protein to between 225 and 250 g/day, correct? I can throw a scoop or two of protein powder into my morning and evening skim milk if necessary.
-I'll be lifting at lunch with a coworker; this is the first time I haven't worked out in late afternoon. I am used to having a post workout recovery shake (e.g. Endurox) and then eating my largest meal of the day 1-1.5 hours post-workout. Should that still be the case if I'm working out at lunch -- that is, should my lunch be dinner sized, and should my dinner portion be smaller?
-Any tips or suggestions from other tall guys, or people who've trained with tall guys, about pitfalls or things to avoid involving squatting would be welcome. I suspect the answer is "shut up and lift weight" but just thought I'd ask.
Thanks in advance!
1/13
PM
A
NG Pullups: x10, x8, x6
Walking Lunges: 30s x8x3
B
OHP: wu, 85 x8x3
Pallofs: x8x3
Seated Calf: 3x10
Facepulls: 4x12
C
Leg Ext: x13, x11
Leg Curl: x13, x11
D
Low Incline DB Bench: wu, 60s x10, x9, x8
HLRs: x7x2, x6
Adductor Machine: x15x2
Abductor Machine: x15x2
E
DB LTEs: 25s x14, x11, x19
DB Preachers: 20s x11, x10, x8
1/14
AM
4x(8x:030/0:30r) Speed Intervals
This is the same session I did last week, albeit outside this time; the intervals were targeted to a 6:30-7:00/mi, but I actually ran them at a 6:00-6:30/mi pace quasi-accidentally (for some reason the watch's end of internal audio pace summary is always 0:20+ seconds fast when reading average pace. It ended up being a bit short of 8 miles of total work in a bit under 65 minutes when adding in the warmup, cooldown, and recoveries, and my HR stayed in the targeted zone (170-180) after I got warmed up, so success I think?
I'm traveling again tomorrow through Friday, so I'll try to get sessions in Wednesday and Thursday after my time onsite, and then plan runs on both days on the weekend.
1/16
PM
Marathon Tempo
15:00 - 1.72 mi/8:43 pace/140 HR (warmup)
20:00_1 - 2.55 mi/7:50 pace/158 HR
5:00_r1 - 0.55 mi/9:02 pace/149 HR
20:00_2 - 2.59 mi/7:43 pace/165 HR
5:00_r2 - 0.54 mi/9:09 pace/153 HR
10:00 - 1.09 mi/9:12 mi/147 HR (cooldown)
Ended up doing this on a track nearby my hotel, so that combined with not running in a polar vortex meant my HR for this session was a lot more reasonable than last week even though my legs were a bit fatigued.
I ran five miles in the hotel gym yesterday too, but it was essentially a sauna due to being in the room next to the heated pool, so nothing to write home about.
1/18
AM
Z2 Run
1:00:00 - 6.51 mi/9:13 pace/145 HR
Got back late Friday from a business trip and the kids had an early robotics competition, so I squeezed this in by sneaking out and running on the track (their competition was at a high school). It was only half clear and slushy/icy, so I had to keep the pace pretty slow.
1/19
AM
Long Z2 Run
2:30:00 - 16.74 mi/8:58 pace/145 HR
Ran my extended normal route and this went pretty well, all things considered; hopefully I can bring the pace down on these over the next few weeks, but this was much better than last week's slog over ice and snow.
1/20
AM
A
Single Leg Press: +90 x10, x9, x8
B
Incline Bench: wu, 145 x6x3
Seated Calf: 3x12, x11, x10
Back Extensions: +10 x6x3
Facepulls: 4x12
C
Abductor Machine: 2x15
Adductor Machine: 2x15
D
Seated DB OHP : 40s x10, x9, x8
DB Incline Row: 60s x10, x9, x8
E
BB Hip Thrust: +90 x8x3
Dips (paused): +0 x8x3
F
Bayesian Curl: x10, x9, x8
Lateral Cable Raise: x12, x11, x10
Felt good; still keeping it light, but getting a bit more regular with the gym sessions.
1/22
AM
Z2 Run
1:00:00 - 6.30 mi/9:30 pace/144 HR
1/23
AM
Z2 Run
1:00:00 - 6.37 mi/9:25 pace/142 HR
Two boring treadmill runs; hopefully it will warm up a bit, because I hate the treadmill and I can't control my heart rate as well.
1/23
Early AM
Z4 Intervals
13:00 - 1.52 mi/8:33 pace/149 HR
6:00_1 - 0.80 mi/7:30 pace/168 HR
3:00_r1 - 0.35 mi/8:35 pace/164 HR
6:00_2 - 0.80 mi/7:30 pace/174 HR
3:00_r2 - 0.35 mi/8:40 pace/164 HR
6:00_3 - 0.80 mi/7:32 pace/176 HR
3:00_r3 - 0.35 mi/9:01 pace/164 HR
6:00_4 - 0.80 mi/7:30 pace/176 HR
3:00_r4 - 0.33 mi/9:04 pace/165 HR
6:00_5 - 0.80 mi/7:29 pace/175 HR
3:00_r5 - 0.33 mi/9:07 pace/164 HR
7:00 - 0.76 mi/9:12 pace/161 HR
A few consecutive days of poor sleep led to an RPE for this session that was probably too high; of course I was too stubborn to dial down the pace.
Late AM
A
NG Pullups: +15 x7, x6, x5
RFESS: +40 x8, x7, x6
B
Bench: wu, 165 x6x3
Facepulls: 4x12
Seated Calf: 3x12, x11, x10
C
Step-ups: +25 x8x3
D
Incline Bench: 50s x10, x9, x8
DB Pullovers: 60 x10, x9, x8
E
Adductor Machine: 2x15
Abductor Machine: 2x15
F
Overhead Rope Tri Ext: x12, x11, x10
DB Hammer Curl: 22.5s x12, x11, x10
This was fine. Glad to knock it out given today's work schedule.
1/25
AM
Z2 Run
45:00 - 4.87 mi/9:14 pace/142 HR
1/26
AM
Z2 Run
1:30:00 - 10.15 mi/8:52 pace/143 HR
Friday was so cold that my tears froze on my left eyelash so I couldn't see out of that eye, which given it's my dominant eye, was a bit problematic. Cutting that run short was smart, which I did, for once. Today was much nicer and pretty leisurely.
This was a mini-recovery week for me (only 36 miles), so I'm feeling reasonably good; next week is going to be heavy, then the week after I'm going to have to fit things in around our ski trip.
Tears of joy, baby.
1/27
Late AM
30' Threshold Test
30:00 - 4.15 mi/7:13 pace/177 HR
I warmed up for about 20 minutes for this - some easy running with some strides mixed in - and then did this thirty minute piece. Supposedly the average heart rate you can hold for the last twenty minutes is a good proxy for what your lactate threshold heart rate is - I averaged a 179 over that period, so the system raised my threshold HR to 98% of that (up to 175). Ended up being, including the warmup and cooldown, 7.1 miles of work in 55 minutes, so pretty brisk for me.
All in all, a pretty decent result considering I was randomly up until 2 last night.
PM
A
NG Pullups: x11, x9, x7
Walking Lunges: 35s x8, x7, x6
B
OHP: wu, 95 x6x3
Pallofs: x10, x9, x8
Seated Calf: x12, x11, x10
Facepulls: 4x12
C
Leg Ext: x11, x9
Leg Curl: x11, x9
D
Flat DB Bench: wu, 60s x12, x11, x10
HLRs: x7x3
Adductor Machine: x15x2
Abductor Machine: x15x2
E
DB LTEs: 30s x9, x8, x7
DB Preachers: 20s x12, x11, x8
Dragged a little during this; not surprising given the above.
1/28
AM
Z2 Run
7.00 mi - 1:02:47/8:58 pace/146 HR
1/29
AM
Threshold Intervals
7:00_1 - 0.96 mi/7:17 pace/164 HR
7:00_2 - 0.97 mi/7:13 pace/170 HR
7:00_3 - 0.98 mi/7:10 pace/175 HR
7:00_4 - 0.99 mi/7:06 pace/176 HR
7:00_5 - 0.97 mi/7:11 pace/176 HR
I was feeling a bit tired yesterday, so I kept it slow. I felt pretty good today; the session was programmed as seven minute reps at a range around threshold pace (6:55-7:35/mi) with two minute recoveries, all of which I hit. Including the jogging recoveries and the warmup/cooldown, this was a 70 minute session and around 8.8 miles of work. Good sleep the last few days definitely helped.
1/30
AM
Z2 Run
1:00:00 - 6.75 mi/8:53 pace/144 HR
1/31
AM
Long Run w/Z4-5
40:00 - 4.69 mi/8:32 pace/145 HR
15:00 - 2.04 mi/7:22 pace/176 HR
40:00 - 4.70 mi/8:31 pace/163 HR
15:00 - 2.04 mi/7:20 pace/176 HR
10:00 - 1.13 mi/8:54 pace/164 HR
I moved up tomorrow's run to today as I'll be traveling; I felt good, so I pushed everything to the top of the programmed pace ranges (as fast as 8:30/mi for the easier stuff and ~half marathon pace - 7:20/mi - for the faster pieces). Most of my easy and long runs have constraints based on HR, not pace, so when I have something like this programmed, I want to make sure I work hard.
I ended up running almost 200 miles this month (197.3 to be exact) so I'm definitely ramping up.
Wow, that seems like a lot.
2/8
AM
Long Z2 Run
2:30:00 - 17.01 mi/8:49 pace/146 HR
Managed to get four half decent treadmill runs in while I was gone (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Friday) and skied Wednesday and Thursday, so managed to stay pretty active. I'm a bit fatigued from a full day of travel back home, but happy to get this in at the goal pace I'd set out (I wanted to cover 17 miles and just barely eked it out). HR stayed very controlled, so the fitness is coming back.
