- 2008 -

[Panda34]

Hey everyone,

It's been a while! Looks like my last workout journal didn't fair too well, huh? I was on a good track at that time but ended up hurting my pec while close grip bench pressing 340. That took roughly three months to feel pain-free. Since then, I've been in the gym on and off - unfortunately mostly off. I don't blame myself though, I put all of my energy into schooling.

As of last week, I finished my first semester of nursing school and made an A. I want to keep making top notch grades so I can keep future opportunities open after I complete my program. I have a pretty decent schedule in place. No longer working full time night shift :) and have relocated closer to school.

For the remainder of 2008, I want to redeem myself in the gym. I'd like to put some size back on and obtain a respectable physique again. My girlfriend and I will be doing this together. I'll be in charge of all the cooking. I want to give this one more honest effort in living a well rounded lifestyle. Of course I will be doing this natural. I will map out a rough guideline to my diet in the next post and some other ideas. Primary goals are to do this as healthy as possible and get back up to a lean 200 or so. My body is hyperactive in a lot of aspects, so it shouldn't take too much work.

Onward and upward!

[Panda34]

I will no longer be doing the mega tuna and dry oat diet lol! I believe I have enough money to do this thing the right way.

Morning will consist of an egg source for protein, oatmeal, and a large piece of fruit. Not sure of the amounts yet, as that will change rapidly as the weeks progress.

Throughout the day I will eat chicken and steak meals with brown rice as my primary carbohydrate source. I will add a bit of fruit to keep some sugar in my diet. I want to prepare my food with large quantities of vegetables, too. For meals two and three I will most likely have a potato source for my carbohydrate - energy levels. I will play around with this though.

Meal five will be a protein shake with peanut butter, oats, and possibly some fruit. Frozen cranberries or mixed frozen berries. This will be my Preworkout meal. I would like to try a creatine or NO2 product at this time, too.

Workout - no longer than 45 minutes. Fast paced, heavy, and high intensity.

Post workout meal will be some type of lax meal. Tacos? More beef? Not sure just yet.

Before bed will be another blended protein shake.

* Workout Guidelines *
Four day on - Three day off
Calves will be worked out on the 'off days' - along with other weak areas. Those areas will be trained first thing in the morning at the apartment gym. Lindsey will do her cardio first thing in the morning on her 'off days', no cardio on training days.

[PumpDogg]

Best of luck to you bro.. School is number one.. Great job on getting an A.. Look forward to seeing your progress

[Ashman]

Good luck my friend on your bodybuilding plans. I am confident that you will be focused on the things you need to be.

[Panda34]

Thanks for the feedback.

I worked out this morning at 7AM. My weight is hanging around the low 180's. That is how my body reacts to no training. I am a very light eater outside of bodybuilding. My body just seems to not need a lot of nutrients when not training and I can live off of two meals a day just fine, especially when under a lot of stress. My hand is pretty messed up at the moment - due to punching a bar stool (long story). So, I will be working around that until it heals. As I told Lindsey, it isn't necessarily a bad thing because I will be forced to slow down and not use as much heavy weight right off the bat.

We basically did three sets of incline dumbells. I worked up to the 100's but was in much pain with my hand at that weight. The dumbells at the World's Gym I am working out at are made out of rubber.... which I absolutely hate, but oh well. We then proceeded to a flat bench machine and it felt very awkward so I threw that out after two working sets. Next we moved to a different chest machine and completed three working sets including strip sets. Lastly, we finished on dumbell flyes to get a bit of a stretch.

The workout went OK overall. I believe the first week or two will be slow, but it will certainly pick up intensity and pace as we push forward. I am going to attempt to find my digital camera at my mother's house tonight and snap some pictures. I will post them this evening if I can find it.

- Don

[mpresiv]

Good to see you back in the gym Panda!! You will bounce back in no time!

[Panda34]

Thanks for the reply Mpresiv!

We worked out legs last night and I was a mess afterwards. Felt like I was going to vomit and crazy light headed; and it wasn't even that tough of a workout! Since I've been doing my diet (three days now), my metabolism is just totally going in overdrive. It's amazing how that works for me - and I know a lot of you guys are the same way. I actually dropped a lot of weight over the past three days, yet I am eating a lot!

Yesterday was an especially good day because I fixed Lindsey's digital camera. These things are truly pieces of shit - I have went through a ton of them. I was able to snap a couple of pictures at my all time lowest. Feel free to throw stones, tomatoes, and insults toward me because I certainly deserve it for letting my body go to waste since 2006!

- Don

[Panda34]

Comments to follow:

[Panda34]

I was dreading taking pictures but I knew it was necessary to truly track my progress.

Calves, Delts, and Chest have literally disappeared. Chest was always very thick for me and it atrophied to nothing. Note the upper chest and overall lack of development. The phrase 'if you don't use it, you lose it' truly applies in this pictures!

Thankfully I was able to stay somewhat lean despite my eating habits. I was very lean at one point (maybe 10 months ago). I was on top of my diet although lacked training, and I was getting shredded. Unfortunately nursing school is all the hype you hear and more - very busy and stressful!!

Okay guys, I am out. One more full week of off time then I get into my second semester and that will truly test my strength to keep this journal going.

- Don

[mpresiv]

I dont think you are that bad off. You'll be suprised how quick you will bounce back. Im in the same boat you are! I havent hit the gym hard since my last show. I havent taken one scoop of protein powder or anything in over one year. Absolutely no supplements or a positive diet!! lol. But I dont care. No way can you keep 100% motivation all of the time. Plus I think the body needs rest from time to time ya know