Blast's Body for Life Journal

[blastdoors]

Hey all:

Decided to start the Body-for-Life regimen. I'm not planning on entering the contest, but I am using the 12 week time frame as a challenge to myself.

Some background info:

I've been on and off the low carb train for the past 3 years. When I stick to it, I have success. But too often I strayed, and have halted my progress. On top of that, I found I had the most progress when I hit the gym, but since school finished (and with it, free gym access) I haven't been able to justify the gym fee. That all changed about a month ago.

For the past month/5 weeks, I've been doing full body routines 3x/week. I've noticed a small difference in body composition but I want to take it to the next level.

Hence the Body-for-Life program.

Supplements:

Multi-vitamin - 1x/day
Calcium 650mg - 1-2x/day
Magnesium 250mg - 1x/day
CLA 1000mg - 6x/day
Fish Oil 1000mg - 4x/day
Vitamin D 1000UI - 1x/day
Chromium 200mcg - 2x/day
Vitamin C 500mg -1x/day

EC stack - 3x/day
Green tea 200mg - 3-4x/day
Might add Tyrosine 3x/day if I feel I need the mental sharpness

BCAA 500mg - 3x before and 3x after cardio/weight workouts

Cardio Workouts

BFL's cardio workouts are a form of intense interval training. Basically you do your first 2 minutes at Level 5 intensity (brisk walk), then minute 3 at Level 6, minute 4 at Level 7, minute 5 at Level 8, minute 6 at Level 9. Then back to 6 for a minute, then 7, etc. Repeat till you hit 20 minutes.

I'll be doing this 3x/week, first thing in the morning, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

Weightlifting

Week 1:

Tuesday:
Upper Body workout

Thursday:
Lower Body workout

Saturday:
Upper Body workout

Week 2:

Tuesday:
Lower Body workout

Thursday:
Upper Body workout

Saturday:
Lower Body workout

Diet:

I'm going to be following a low carb diet for this challenge. Here are my ideal targets per day:

Starting weight: 190 lbs
Calories: 1800-2000
Carbs: Under 20g/day, ideally under 15g/day
Protein: 175g-200g/day
Fat: whatever's left over

I'll try it this way for the first 3 weeks, then depending on my workouts/progress I may switch to a TKD, taking 40g of carbs pre-workout. We'll see how it goes.

[blastdoors]

Tried the cardio workout on Sunday morning and Monday morning, was tough but I did it. Felt great! :agree:

[blastdoors]

This morning I did my first BFL-style workout. Here's my stats:

Chest

Dumbbell Bench Press:
12 reps ~ 50 pounds
Rest 1 minute
10 reps ~ 60 pounds
Rest 1 minute
08 reps ~ 70 pounds
Rest 1 minute
06 reps ~ 80 pounds
No rest
12 reps ~ 70 pounds
Rest 2 minutes
Butterflys:
12 reps ~ 80 pounds

Notes: Tough but felt good! Really felt it in the last few reps of the Butterflys.

Shoulders

Seated Military Press:
12 reps ~ 50 pounds
Rest 1 minute
10 reps ~ 60 pounds
Rest 1 minute
08 reps ~ 70 pounds
Rest 1 minute
06 reps ~ 80 pounds
No rest
06 reps ~ 70 pounds
Rest 2 minutes

Side Raises:
12 reps ~ 20 pounds

Notes: Too much weight on the Seated Press, could only do 6 reps on the last set instead of 12. Also, stick to 15 pounds on the side raises. Form suffered at 20 pounds.

Triceps

Seated Triceps Press:
12 reps ~ 10 pounds
Rest 1 minute
10 reps ~ 20 pounds
Rest 1 minute
08 reps ~ 30 pounds
Rest 1 minute
06 reps ~ 40 pounds
No rest
12 reps ~ 30 pounds

Dumbbell Kickbacks
12 reps ~ 20 pounds

Notes: Good sets. Seated Tricep Press doesn't allow for 5 pounds increments which would have been better. Should switch exercises on Saturday.

Biceps

Seated Dumbbell Curls:
12 reps ~ 20 pounds
Rest 1 minute
10 reps ~ 25 pounds
Rest 1 minute
08 reps ~ 30 pounds
Rest 1 minute
06 reps ~ 35 pounds
No rest
12 reps ~ 20 pounds
Rest 2 minutes

Standing Hammer Curls:
12 reps ~ 20 pounds

Notes: Reduce seated curls by 5 pounds, couldn't quite manage last set until I reduced the weight. Good bicep pump though!

Back

Lat Pulldowns:
12 reps ~ 70 pounds
Rest 1 minute
10 reps ~ 85 pounds
Rest 1 minute
08 reps ~ 100 pounds
Rest 1 minute
06 reps ~ 110 pounds
No rest
12 reps ~ 100 pounds
Rest 2 minutes

Back Extensions:
20 reps ~ Bodyweight only

Notes: Felt good, try adding a 5 pound weight next time for the Back Extensions.

Overall, a good first workout I think!

[blastdoors]

Did my cardio this morning. Was only able to complete 3 of the 4 circuits - wind wasn't helping. Also, I should have drank water right after getting up rather than waiting till before I left for my run.

Will do better on Friday. I'm also thinking of adding the 20 minutes of cardio to after my weight workouts; I've read that a lot of the BFL champions did extra cardio, so maybe it'll help. We'll see how it goes.

[blastdoors]

Finished the bottle of CLA today, not going to buy another one. 60 tablets cost 15 bucks, and with 6 a day that's not even a 2 week's supply :lol:

Had some washroom issues since yesterday so I picked up some Milk Thistle, hopefully that'll help a bit.

My Leg and Ab workout will be done tonight, had to come to work early. Looking forward to it since my chest and especially triceps are still pumped from Tuesday's workout :thup:

[blastdoors]

Tonight was my first BFL-style Lower Body workout.

Wow. Don't think I've ever sweat that much doing legs before :thup:

Also realized after re-reading the chapter in the book on the routines that I messed up a bit on Tuesday's workout - I got the rest intervals wrong timing-wise of the two last sets of 12 reps. Fixed it for tonight.

Here's the stats:

Quads

Leg Press:
12 reps ~ 360lbs
Rest 1 minute
10 reps ~ 370lbs
Rest 1 minute
08 reps ~ 380lbs
Rest 1 minute
06 reps ~ 385lbs
Rest 1 minute
12 reps ~ 380lbs
No rest

Leg Extensions:
12 reps ~ 75lbs
Rest 2 minutes

Notes: Had trouble walking afterwords :lol:

Hamstrings

Seated Leg Curls:
12 reps ~ 80lbs
Rest 1 minute
10 reps ~ 90lbs
Rest 1 minute
08 reps ~ 100lbs
Rest 1 minute
06 reps ~ 110lbs
Rest 1 minute
12 reps ~ 100lbs
No rest

Lying Leg Curls:
12 reps ~ 40lbs
Rest 2 minutes

Notes: Gonna try to flip the exercises next time.

Calves

Seated Calf Raises:
12 reps ~ 50lbs
Rest 1 minute
10 reps ~ 60lbs
Rest 1 minute
08 reps ~ 80lbs
Rest 1 minute
06 reps ~ 80lbs
Rest 1 minute
12 reps ~ 70lbs
No rest

Standing Calf Raises
12 reps ~ 150lbs
Rest 2 minutes

Notes: Calves felt like they were 'activated' for the first time. Burning, but in a good way!

Abs

Ab Crunch Machine:
12 reps ~ 110lbs
Rest 1 minute
10 reps ~ 130lbs
Rest 1 minute
08 reps ~ 140lbs
Rest 1 minute
06 reps ~ 160lbs
Rest 1 minute
12 reps ~ 140lbs
No rest

Knee / Hip Raise On Parallel Bars
12 reps ~ Bodyweight

Notes: Parallel Bar raises didn't do much, I think I need to hold for longer.

Overall pretty good, definitely felt a pump!

[blastdoors]

Morning weight: 185 lbs! :thup: Down 5 lbs in 5 days!

Still feeling the burn in my legs, glutamine taken last night helped. Not really pain, just some good old soreness :p

Tomorrow I'm to do my Upper Body Workout, but it's gonna be tough. I'm going to be working from 4:30 in the morning to possibly 7 or 8pm, then back to work at 4:30 Sunday morning. Yikes!

[blastdoors]

Did my 2nd Upper Body Workout, shook things up a little bit:

Chest

Dumbbell Bench Press:

12 reps ~ 60lbs
Rest 1 minute
10 reps ~ 70lbs
Rest 1 minute
08 reps ~ 80lbs
Rest 1 minute
06 reps ~ 90lbs
Rest 1 minute
12 reps ~ 80lbs
No rest

Butterflies:
12 reps ~ 80lbs

Shoulders

Seated Shoulder Press:
12 reps ~ 40lbs
Rest 1 minute
10 reps ~ 50lbs
Rest 1 minute
08 reps ~ 60lbs
Rest 1 minute
06 reps ~ 70lbs
Rest 1 minute
12 reps ~ 60lbs
No rest

Dumbbell Side Raises:
12 reps ~ 15lbs

Back

T-Bar Row:
12 reps ~ 45lbs
Rest 1 minute
10 reps ~ 50lbs
Rest 1 minute
08 reps ~ 55lbs
Rest 1 minute
06 reps ~ 60lbs
Rest 1 minute
12 reps ~ 55lbs
No rest

Back Extensions:
12 reps ~ BW + 5lbs

Triceps

Dumbbell Kickbacks:
12 reps ~ 10lbs
Rest 1 minute
10 reps ~ 15lbs
Rest 1 minute
08 reps ~ 20lbs
Rest 1 minute
06 reps ~ 20 lbs
Rest 1 minute
12 reps ~ 15lbs
No rest

Seated Triceps Press:
12 reps ~ 30 lbs

Biceps

Preacher Curls:
12 reps ~ 40lbs
Rest 1 minute
10 reps ~ 50lbs
Rest 1 minute
08 reps ~ 60lbs
Rest 1 minute
05 reps ~ 60lbs
Rest 1 minute
08 reps ~ 40lbs
No rest

Hammer Curls:
12 reps ~ 20lbs

Notes: Preacher curl was tough, couldn't quite do the max reps for the last two sets.

Overall it was an okay workout, I only had four hours sleep the night before and four hours after the workout due to work. Luckily that gig is now over so Tuesday's Lower Body workout should be good!

[blastdoors]

Lower Body:

Quads

Leg Press:
12 reps ~370lbs
Rest 1 minute
10 reps ~ 380lbs
Rest 1 minute
08 reps ~ 380lbs
Rest 1 minute
06 reps ~ 370lbs
Rest 1 minute
12 reps ~ 370lbs
No rest

Leg Extension:
12 reps ~ 75lbs

Hamstrings

Seated Leg Curls:
12 reps ~ 90lbs
Rest 1 minute
10 reps ~ 100lbs
Rest 1 minute
08 reps ~ 110lbs
Rest 1 minute
06 reps ~ 120lbs
Rest 1 minute
12 reps ~ 110lbs
No rest

Lying Leg Curls
12 reps ~ 30lbs

Calves

Seated Calf Raises:
12 reps ~ 50lbs
Rest 1 minute
10 reps ~ 70lbs
Rest 1 minute
08 reps ~ 75lbs
Rest 1 minute
06 reps ~ 85lbs
Rest 1 minute
12 reps ~ 85lbs
No rest

Standing Calf Raises:
12 reps ~ 180lbs

Abs

Seated Crunch Machine:
12 reps ~ 120lbs
Rest 1 minute
10 reps ~ 140lbs
Rest 1 minute
08 reps ~ 160lbs
Rest 1 minute
06 reps ~ 170lbs
Rest 1 minute
12 reps ~ 160lbs
No rest

Leg Raises
12 reps ~ BW

Overall a good workout!

[blastdoors]

Upper Body:

Chest

Dumbbell Bench Press:
12 reps ~ 35lbs
Rest 1 minute
10 reps ~ 40lbs
Rest 1 minute
08 reps ~ 45lbs
Rest 1 minute
06 reps ~ 45lbs
Rest 1 minute
12 reps ~ 40lbs
No rest

Butterflies:
12 reps ~ 90lbs

Shoulders

Seated Press:
12 reps ~ 40lbs
Rest 1 minute
10 reps ~ 50lbs
Rest 1 minute
08 reps ~ 60lbs
Rest 1 minute
06 reps ~ 80lbss
Rest 1 minute
12 reps ~ 70lbs
No rest

Side Raises:
12 reps ~ 15lbs

Back

Lat Pulldowns:
12 reps ~ 85lbs
Rest 1 minute
10 reps ~ 100lbs
Rest 1 minute
08 reps ~ 110lbs
Rest 1 minute
06 reps ~ 120lbs
Rest 1 minute
12 reps ~ 110lbs
No rest

Back Extensions:
25 reps ~ Bodyweight + 5lbs

Triceps

Reverse Grip Tricep Pulldown:
12 reps ~ 40lbs
Rest 1 minute
10 reps ~ 60lbs
Rest 1 minute
08 reps ~ 70lbs
Rest 1 minute
06 reps ~ 100lbs
Rest 1 minute
12 reps ~ 70lbs
No rest

Dumbbell kickbacks:
12 reps ~ 15lbs

Notes: The Reverse Grip Pulldown station I used had most of the weight numbers rubbed off, so these are just estimates.

Biceps

Seated Dumbbell Curls:
12 reps ~ 20lbs
Rest 1 minute
10 reps ~ 25lbs
Rest 1 minute
08 reps ~ 30lbs
Rest 1 minute
06 reps ~ 35lbs
Rest 1 minute
12 reps ~ 30lbs
No rest

Standing Hammer Curls:
12 reps ~ 20lbs

Notes: Good pump!

[blastdoors]

This is my last lower body workout of this 2nd week of BFL. Feels good, 10 more weeks to go :agree:

Quads

Leg Press:
12 reps ~ 370lbs
Rest 1 minute
10 reps ~ 380lbs
Rest 1 minute
08 reps ~ 385lbs
Rest 1 minute
06 reps ~ 390lbs
Rest 1 minute
12 reps ~ 385lbs
No rest

Leg Extensions:
6 reps ~ 90lbs
6 reps ~ 75lbs

Notes: Had to split the 12 reps of Leg Extensions up, legs couldn't quite manage it!

Hamstrings

Seated Leg Curls:
12 reps ~ 90lbs
Rest 1 minute
10 reps ~ 100lbs
Rest 1 minute
08 reps ~ 110lbs
Rest 1 minute
06 reps ~ 120lbs
Rest 1 minute
12 reps ~ 110lbs
No rest

Lying Leg Curls:
12 reps ~ 40lbs

Calves

Seated Calf Raises:
12 reps ~ 55lbs
Rest 1 minute
10 reps ~ 65lbs
Rest 1 minute
08 reps ~ 95lbs
Rest 1 minute
06 reps ~ 95lbs
Rest 1 minute
12 reps ~ 85lbs
No rest

Standing Calf Raises:
12 reps ~ 190lbs

Notes: Mis-calculated the weight for the first few sets. My bad!

Abs

Seated Machine Crunch:
12 reps ~ 130lbs
Rest 1 minute
10 reps ~ 150lbs
Rest 1 minute
08 reps ~ 170lbs
Rest 1 minute
06 reps ~ 180lbs
Rest 1 minute
12 reps ~ 170lbs
No rest

Leg Raises:
12 reps ~ Bodyweight

Traps

Dumbbell Shrugs:
12 reps ~ 25lbs
Rest 1 minute
10 reps ~ 30lbs
Rest 1 minute
08 reps ~ 40lbs
Rest 1 minute
06 reps ~ 50lbs
Rest 1 minute
12 reps ~ 40lbs

Notes: Decided to throw in some Trap work, since I find the Upper Body workout doesn't really hit them directly. Plus I just like doing shrugs :lol: