John Hansens Training Diary Week of May 4th 2008
by: John Hansen - May 10th, 2008
John Hansen’s Training Diary – Week of May 4th, 2008 Monday, May 5th, 2008
I got back from my long weekend in Oregon last night. My diet was way off starting Saturday night and all day Sunday. I sort of planned it that way because I knew my body needed a break from all the dieting and heavy training.
I stuck to my diet pretty well on Thursday, Friday and Saturday last week but I made the decision to eat at the After Party on Saturday night and I knew my diet would be off on Sunday because I was traveling through airports all day. I figured I would gain some weight from all the sodium in the restaurant foods (and drinks!) but I had no idea how much damage a day and a half of eating could do!
When I last weighed and measured myself on Thursday, May 1st, I weighed 208.5 pounds and my waist was down to 34 ¼”. This morning, I was SHOCKED to see my weight ballooned up to 219.5 pounds and my waist at an astounding 35 ¼”! My weight went up 11 pounds and my waist expanded a full inch after a couple days of eating!! WOW!!!
Needless to say, I was totally back on track today. Judging by the amount of times I had to run to the bathroom today, I knew I was losing a lot of water and I figured I would be probably be at least five pounds lighter by tomorrow. I was really hoping the waist would go back to normal by the end of the week because I only have 8 full weeks left until my planned photo shoot with IronMan Magazine.
For my training this week, I felt like my body really needed a break from the heavy lifting. I have been feeling much weaker these last two weeks before my posing exhibition so the thought of coming back to the gym on Monday morning and training heavy again was about as exciting as a trip to the dentist to get a root canal. Instead of taking a full week off, Matt and I decided to train very light this week, only using 60% of our normal heavy sets.
This workout was actually fun and very easy to get through. I didn’t have to mentally psych myself up before I went to the gym like I normally do and I didn’t have to worry about training heavier than last time. It was a nice break and a welcome relief from the heavy training. I didn’t really do any supersets or anything to make the workout a lot harder because it is, after all, supposed to be a week of recuperation. I did increase the reps to about 12-20 per set because the weights were so light. As a result, I got a great pump but I didn’t kill myself in the workouts. Here is how the Light workout for chest, triceps and calves went today:
DB Bench Press 45x20, 75x15, 75x15, 75x12
Incline Press 155x15, 155x12, 155x12
Incline Flyes 50x12, 50x12, 50x12
Wide-Grip Dips BWx10, BWx8
Close-Grip Bench Press 135x12, 135x12, 135x12
Lying Tricep Ext. 100x12, 100x12, 100x12
Bench Dips BWx20, BWx20, BWx15
Standing Calf Raises 320x20, 320x15, 320x15
Seated Calf Raises 90x20, 90x15, 90x15
As for the diet, I went right back on my normal diet and it felt very good to get back on schedule. My body was feeling better as the day went on and I could feel all the water and bloat being eliminated. Here is exactly what I ate today:
Meal 1 – Protein Drink consisting of 2 scoops of Whey Gold, 1 T. flaxseed oil
Meal 2 – 2 eggs, 8 egg whites, 1 cup of oatmeal, ½ cup blueberries
Meal 3 – Protein Drink consisting of 1 scoop Pro Complex, 1 scoop Casein
Meal 4 – (Pre-Workout) – 1 serving Whey Gold, 1 serving Vassive CE
Meal 5 – (During Workout) – 1 serving Vassive EA8, 1 serving Vassive NO
Meal 6 – (Post Workout) – 2 scoops 2:1:1 Recovery, 1 serving Vassive CE
Meal 7 – 4.23 oz lean ground turkey, 123 grams sweet potato, 3 oz broccoli
Meal 8 – 6 egg whites, 2 T. salsa
Meal 9 – 6 oz marinated salmon, 1 cup green beans
Meal 10 – Protein Drink consisting of 2 scoops Casein Protein, 1 T. flaxseed oil
Today’s diet came out to 2949 calories with 335 grams of protein, 215 grams of carbs and 74 grams of fats. This breaks down to 45% protein, 29% carbohydrates and 23% fats. It should be interesting to see how much my weight and waist drop by tomorrow.
Tuesday, May 6th, 2008
My weight this morning was down five pounds from yesterday, 214.5 pounds and the waist was down about half an inch, it was at 34 ¾”. I’m hoping this continues to drop as the week goes on so I am back to what I was before I went to Oregon last weekend.
Today was the light workout for abs and legs. It was another very easy and enjoyable workout and I tried to keep the reps at 12-15 reps per set to make it just a little bit harder. Here is how it went:
Hanging Knee Raises BWx35, BWx30
Crunches – Bench BWx30, BWx25
Leg Curls 80x15, 80x15, 80x15
DB Stiff leg Deadlifts 75x12, 75x12
Leg Extensions (Body Master) 120x25, 120x20, 120x15
Leg Press 450x15, 50015, 500x20
Front Squats 135x12, 135x12, 135x12
Walking DB Lunges 45x12, 45x12
As for the diet, I cut back slightly on the calories and also on the carbohydrates. I have to really struggle to keep my carbs down to 200 grams on my workout days. Here is what I ate today:
Meal 1 – 1 egg, 9 egg whites, 1 cup of oatmeal, ½ cup blueberries
Meal 2 – Protein Drink consisting of 1 scoop Pro Complex, 1 scoop Egg Protein
Meal 3 – (Pre-Workout) – 1 serving Whey Gold, 1 serving Vassive CE
Meal 4 – (During Workout) – 1 serving Vassive EA8, 1 serving Vassive NO
Meal 5 – (Post Workout) – 2 scoops 2:1:1 Recovery, 1 serving Vassive CE
Meal 6 – 4.23 oz lean ground turkey, 102 grams sweet potato, 3 oz broccoli.
Meal 7 – Protein Drink consisting of 1 scoop of Pro Complex, 1 scoop Casein Protein, 1 T. flaxseed oil
Meal 8 – 2.72 oz round steak, 30 grams pasta sauce, ½ cup green peas, 17 grams natural peanut butter
Meal 9 – Protein Drink consisting of 2 scoops Casein Protein, 1 T. flaxseed oil
Today’s diet came out to 2779 calories with 299 grams of protein, 212 grams of carbs and 76 grams of fats. This breaks down to 43%, 31% carbohydrates and 25% fat.
Wednesday, May 7th, 2008
My weight today was down to 211 pounds (another 3 pounds lost since yesterday) and my waist was also down to 34 ½”. I’m almost back to where I was last week before I left for my trip out of town.
Today was an off day from the gym so I did some cardio in the morning for 30 minutes. I had a client to train at 5:30 am so I had a small whey protein drink before I left for the gym and then I did my cardio after I was finished working. I did 10 minutes on the stair mill and then another 20 minutes on the treadmill. I set the treadmill at 3.3 mph with the incline at 9.0, which was a slight increase over last week.
I kept the carbs under 150 grams today and my calories were around 2500, which was pretty good. Here is exactly what I ate today:
Meal 1 – Protein Drink consisting of 1 scoop of Whey Gold and 1 serving of Vassive EA8
Meal 2 – (After Cardio) – Protein Drink consisting of 1 scoop of Whey Gold and 1 serving of creatine
Meal 3 – 2 eggs, 8 egg whites, 1 cup of oatmeal, ½ cup blueberries
Meal 4 – 1 egg, 7 egg whites, 4 T. salsa, 18 grams of natural peanut butter
Meal 5 – 4.23 oz lean ground turkey, 119 grams sweet potato, 3.07 oz broccoli
Meal 6 – 6 oz marinated salmon, 1 cup green beans
Meal 7 – Protein Drink consisting of 1 scoop Pro Complex, 1 scoop Casein Protein
Meal 8 – Protein Drink consisting of 2 scoops Casein Protein, 1 T. flaxseed oil
Today’s diet came out to 2551 calories with 285 grams of protein, 147.5 grams of carbohydrates and 82 grams of fats. This breaks down to 45% protein, 23% carbs and 29% fats. Back to the gym tomorrow!
Thursday, May 8th, 2008
My bodyweight today was at 210.5 pounds and my waist is still at 34 ½”. It seems like this is where it is going to stay for the time being. IF, and it’s a big IF, I can consistently lose at least a quarter of an inch off my waist each week, I will be in great shape in 6-7 weeks. I just have to absolutely make sure I do everything possible to lose that quarter of an inch off my waist.
Today was shoulders, traps and calves at the gym for our third Light workout of the week. It was another easy training session and Matt and I finished in just over an hour. I’m starting to like these easy workouts!
Seated DB Press 45x20, 60x15, 60x15, 60x15
Seated Side Laterals 30x15, 30x12, 30x12
Upright Rows 85x15, 85x15, 85x15
Lying Side Laterals 25x15, 25x15, 25x15
DB Shrugs 80x15, 80x12, 80x12
Donkey Calf Raises 190x30, 190 plus 45 lbs x 30 x 2 sets
Face Down Calf Raises 160x15 x 3 sets
My diet today was pretty good. I was able to keep the carbs at 215 grams, which is pretty good. Here is what I ate today:
Meal 1 – 1 egg, 9 egg whites, 1 cup of oatmeal, ½ cup blueberries
Meal 2 – (Pre-Workout) – 1 serving Whey Gold, 1 serving Vassive CE
Meal 3 – (During Workout) – 1 serving Vassive EA8, 1 serving Vassive NO
Meal 4 – (Post Workout) – 2 scoops 2:1:1 Recovery, 1 serving Vassive CE
Meal 5 – 4.06 oz lean ground turkey, 123 grams sweet potato, 3.17 oz broccoli
Meal 6 – Protein Drink consisting of 1 scoop Pro Complex, 1 scoop Casein Protein, 1 T. flaxseed oil
Meal 7 – Protein Drink consisting of 1 scoop Pro Complex, 1 scoop Casein Protein
Meal 8 – 3.46 oz round steak, 30 grams pasta sauce, ½ cup green peas
Meal 9 – Protein Drink consisting of 2 scoops Casein Protein, 1 T. flaxseed oil
Today’s diet came out to 2743 calories with 298 grams of protein, 214 grams of carbohydrates and 71 grams of fats. The break down for today’s diet is 43% protein, 31% carbs and 23% fat.
Friday, May 9th, 2008
My weight today was at 209.5 pounds and the waist is still at 34 ½”. Today was my last day of training for the week. I’m going to increase my calories today to try and boost my metabolism so my waist hopefully goes down.
I trained back and biceps today and went light again. I tried doing barbell rows in the smith machine and that worked out pretty well. My lower back wasn’t hurting although I was going much, much lighter so I don’t know how it will be if I go heavier. I was also able to do light deadlifts at the end of the workout. I only went up to 225 for sets of 12 reps so that wasn’t heavy either. Here is how the workout went today:
Close-Grip Pulldowns 110x15, 110x15, 110x12
Barbell Rows – Smith Machine 135x15, 185x15, 185x15, 185x15
Seated Cable Rows 170x15, 170x15, 170x15
Deadlifts 225x12, 225x12, 225x12
Incline Curls 35x15, 35x12, 35x12
Barbell Curls 75x12, 75x15, 75x15
Alternating Hammer Curls 35x12, 35x12
Concentration Curls 25x10, 25x10
Wrist Curls 95x15, 95x15, 95x15
I really increased my calories and my carbs today to try and boost my metabolism. I’ll see if it works tomorrow and if my waist goes down. I added a serving of Waxy Maize to my pre-workout drink and I also added a meal of 1 scoop of Pro Complex with a teaspoon of peanut butter (Mmmm, was that good!). Here is what I ate today:
Meal 1 – 2 eggs, 8 egg whites, 1 cup of oatmeal, ½ cup blueberries
Meal 2 – Protein Drink consisting of 1 scoop of Pro Complex, 1 scoop Whey Gold, 1 T. flaxseed oil
Meal 3 – (Pre-Workout) – 1 scoop Whey Gold, 1 serving Vassive CE, 1 serving Waxy Maize
Meal 4 – (During Workout) – 1 serving Vassive EA8, 1 serving Vassive NO
Meal 5 – (Post Workout) – 2 scoops 2:1:1 Recovery, 1 serving Vassive CE
Meal 6 – 3.84 oz lean ground turkey, 111 grams sweet potato, 3.10 oz broccoli
Meal 7 – 6 oz marinated salmon, 1 cup green beans
Meal 8 – Protein Drink consisting of 1 scoop Pro Complex, 1 scoop Casein Protein
Meal 9 – 1 scoop Pro Complex mixed with 20 grams natural peanut butter
Meal 10 – Protein Drink consisting of 2 scoops Casein Protein with 1 T. flaxseed oil
Today’s diet came out to whopping 3151 calories with 351 grams of protein, 240.5 grams of carbohydrates and 85 grams of fats. The break down for today’s calories comes out to 45% protein, 31% carbs and 24% fats.
Saturday, May 10th, 2008
My weight today was at 209 pounds but the waist was still at 34 ½” so my experiment of increasing the calories and carbs yesterday really didn’t work. Maybe there was not enough time from getting back on my diet on Monday to increasing the carbs on Friday for my body to respond to the higher calories and carbs.
I went to the gym today to do some abs and a light leg workout followed by 20 minutes of cardio on the treadmill. Here is what I did with the workout:
Incline Sit-ups BWx45, BWx30
Supersetted with
Incline Knee Raises BWx25, BWx20
Alternate Crunches BWx25, BWx25
Supersetted with
Seated Knee Raises BWx25, BWx25
Leg Extensions (Cybex) 110x25, 150x15, 180x15
Leg Press 360x15, 450x15, 450x15
Supersetted with
Sissy Squats BWx10, BWx10, BWx10
Alternating DB Lunges 30x10, 30x10, 30x10
Cardio – 20 minutes on treadmill – 3.3 mph @ 9.0 incline
My diet today was a good rest day diet. I didn’t increase my carbs because of the workout since it was a light training session. This diet must be working because I was starving at night when the carb intake went down. I’m pushing for the 34 ¼” waist by early next week!
Meal 1 – 2 eggs, 8 egg whites, 1 cup of oatmeal, ½ cup blueberries
Meal 2 – Protein Drink consisting of 1 scoop Pro Complex, 1 scoop Egg Protein
Meal 3 – (Pre-Workout) – 1 serving Whey Gold, 1 serving creatine
Meal 4 – (Post Workout) – 1 serving Whey Gold, 1 serving creatine
Meal 5 – 4.51 oz lean ground turkey, 133 grams sweet potato, 3 oz broccoli
Meal 6 – 3.10 oz round steak, 30 grams pasta sauce, ½ cup green peas
Meal 7 – 1 egg, 7 egg whites, 3 T. salsa, 10 grams natural peanut butter
Meal 8 – Protein Drink consisting of 2 scoops Casein Protein, 1 T. flaxseed oil
Today’s diet came out to 2479 calories with 274 grams of protein, 151 grams of carbohydrates and 79 grams of fats. This breaks down to 44% protein, 24% carbs and 29% fats.
It was good getting back on track this week and I’m ready to really push it up a few more notches next week to get ripped. I want to increase my muscle mass while getting much, much harder over the next seven weeks
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