The Back on Track Report: Week 1

On June 27th, a Wednesday, I officially began my journey to get back on the track in one year’s time. To keep myself honest and to show you how I got in the best shape of my life in 365 days (or close to it), I’ll be tracking my progress here on TRSJ with a weekly recap. I’ve been good about jotting down all my workouts, but haven’t been as good about jotting down all my foods. So this first edition will focus on the workouts, while subsequent editions will include workouts and (hopefully) food intake. I’ll tell you right now though…

Don’t be surprised to see a burrito, pizza, or chinese food in my intake list. Part of my goal is to show you that it’s possible to get in the best shape of your life while also eating the foods you enjoy. I will also include any supplements I’m taking. Oh yeah, please forgive me if the format looks janky. This is something I’ll figure out over time. I also won’t be posting descriptions of each exercise due to time constraints and the fact there’s google. I will, however, share the ones that I think will be harder to find.

Wednesday, June 27th (Gym)

• 1-Mile Treadmill Warmup (Mix of paces to get the heart rate up)
• Bench Press 3×8 135lbs 135 135 (6 reps)
• Upright Row 3×8 55 65 75
• Decline Push Ups 3 Sets 8 reps 6 4
• Cable Machine Fly 3×8 80 80 95
• Dumb Bell(DB) Shoulder Press 3×8 25 30 30(5)
• Tricep Pulldown 3×8 80 90 90
• 10 minute static stretch

Thursday, June 28th (Gym)

• 1-Mile Treadmill Warmup
• DB Bent Over Row 3×8 40 40 45
• Shrugs 3×8 65 70 70
• DB Curls 3×8 25 25 30(3) 25*
• Hamstring Curls 3×10 55 60 55
• Lat Pull Downs 3×8 90 100 110
• Seated Calf Raises 3×10 45 35 35
• Prone Hyperextensions 3×8 10lbs 0 0
• Hip Abductor Machine (Outward) 3×10 50 70 90
• 10 minute static stretch

*I felt some type of way about how few DB Curls I did, so I did a 4th set with less weight for redemption.

Friday, June 29th – Rest

Saturday, June 30th (Gym)

• 45 Minute Spin Class
• 10 minute static stretch

Sunday, July 1st (Gym)

• 20-Minute 2-Mile Treadmill Intervals
• Bench Press 3×8 135 135 135
• Seated Fly Machine 3×8 70 80 80
• DB Shoulder Press 3×8 25 30 30
• DB Shoulder Fly (Front/Side)  2×8 12.5
• Standing Side Crunch w/ weight 3×8 35 40 45
• Tricep Pulldown 3×8 90 90 100
• 10 minute static stretch

Monday, July 2nd (Track)

• Track Warmup (200 meter jog & 100 meter skip x 2, a bunch of warm up exercises from memory that I’ll detail later.)
• 10 x 100 Yards. 1 minute max to complete (target 50 seconds). Stride up football field and jog back.
• 10 minute static stretch

Tuesday, July 3rd (Gym)

• 45 Minute Spin Class
• 10 minute static stretch

Wednesday, July 4th – Rest

I was pretty damn spent from Tuesday’s spin class, so I slept like 10 hours then went to a bbq. I ate meats and no buns. Pause.

Thursday, July 5th (Gym)

• DB Row 4×8 40 45 50 55
• DB Bicep curl 4×8 25 25 25 25 (5)
• Shrugs 4×8 65 70 75 80
• Hamstring curls 4×10 50 55 55
• Seated Calf Raises 4×8 35 35 40 45
• Cable curls 3×8 80 80 90(6)

Friday, July 6th (Track)

So I was fortunate enough to have a former coach send me summer workouts that he has his team doing. That includes a series of circuits. There is no rest between these until you’ve went through the full range of exercise. You’ll see what I mean below. Note that I did a 20-25 minute track warm up that I still haven’t documented. What I can tell you is that my hip flexors have zero endurance. #workinprogress

• Stride 200m
• 25 crunches
• 25 push ups
• Stride 100m
• 25 back hypers
• 10 L-overs (to each side, 20 total)
• Stride 100m
• Lunges (10 out, 10 back)
• 25 Side Crunches
• 25 Side Crunches (opposite side)
• Stride 200m

Rest for 3 minutes and repeat
Rest again for 3 minutes and do a third time. Stretch

 Saturday, July 7 (Gym)

• 20-Minute Bike Warmup
• Bench Press 3×8 135 135 135(6)*
• Upright Row 3×8 65 75 85
• Cable Machine Fly 3×8 80 95 95
• Lat Pulldown 3×8 90 100 110
• Tricep Pulldown 3×8 90 100 100
• 10 minute static stretch

*I suspect my bench was a struggle because I hadn’t done it in a week and the push ups from the day before.

 Thoughts

You’ll notice some of the poundages were pretty low. I’m really starting from scratch and making sure that I build the foundation the right way. That and I got pretty weak from months of Sedentary Lazosis. One of the biggest challenges was seeing people half my size throwing around twice the weight. I felt my competitive nature coming back, but I sure as hell didn’t want the injuries from stunting in the gym.

On the track, I was surprised at my muscle memory. I wasn’t so surprised by how slow I was and the screeching and grinding of my muscles and joints as they came back to life. I’m gonna need to throw some yoga into the mix in addition to a lot more core training. I’m not supposed to wobble wobble when I run or see my hamstring light come on as soon as I turn on my car.

All in all though, it’s great to be back!

Slim