Holidays

The worst time of the year...for losing weight.

Every holiday season, for several reasons, I tend to gain weight. It's cold so the body tries to insulate itself (I often find myself hungrier than usual). In addition, things come up--one after another--that divert attention away from your fitness goals. Family gatherings, travel, shopping, semester finals, projects, planning and on and on and on. While all of these things are important, do not let them interfere with your progress! Remember that after the holiday season, you will be left by yourself looking in the mirror. Don't let the holidays be an excuse. If you remain persistent, you won't be kicking yourself later while making New Year's resolutions.

Find the time to work out and eat right. You will be more active this time of year with all the walking around, looking at things and buying others. But this does not count as a valid substitute for exercise. Remember that. Also remember that your dedication will help others stay motivated for losing weight too. Believe it or not, success is contagious; unfortunately, so is failure. Just keep doing what you have been doing and I will do the same.

If you have not done it yet, make sure you plan your next short-term goals. These are important to tide you over for your big breakthroughs. Without smaller goals, you can starve yourself emotionally, succumb to despair and quit. Do not let this time of joy turn into one of sorrow. Understandably, you may have to make small sacrifices here and there when it comes to trips to the gym or your diet. Just make sure they remain small. For now, I am content with my new workout regimen which I have altered once again:

Day 1 - Upper Body
Day 2 - Cardio
Day 3 - Rest
Day 4 - Lowe Body
Day 5 - Cardio Rest
Day 6 - Rest
Day 7 - Upper Body

When the new year draws closer, I will post my next set of goals.

Until then..

Continued Progress

Last night, on my day off from the gym, I went there anyway to soak in the hot tub and take measurements. Right now, I weigh 199 1/2 Ibs and have 16% body fat (down from 204 Ibs and 16.5% body fat). I expected the decline to slow after roughly 18 months of working out. In order to keep progressing, I think I am going to alter some of my routine.

I like the two days on, one day off regimen but I think I am advancing into the heavy weights category. When I last worked my chest muscles (two days or so ago), I was able to press 90 Ibs (plus whatever the bar apparatus weighs) without flinching. I think to cut the rest of the body fat, I am going to deload for one week and multiply the reps. I did this before and had amazing success. The only downside is that there is a greater potential for injury because I will be lifting for twice the length--even if it is only half or 3/4 of the weight.

The plus side is that performing 20, 25 or even 30 reps per set gives me the opportunity to perfect my form. I still catch myself occasionally arching my back or kipping my body in some other way to help lift the weight on the latter reps of a set. This will hopefully remedy the bad habits that I am still trying to lose.

I will begin the new regimen next week.

Until then..

Diminishing Returns

One reality about working out is that your muscles cannot perform indefinitely--even with plenty of rest in between sets. The fact that you tire as the workout goes on will manifest in your inability to perform at the same level. In other words, you will reach a point in your workout when the effort you expend yields less results. When you reach that point depends on several factors--whether you are working one or more muscle groups, how long you rest in between sets, whether you are bulking or cutting, etc.

Here is an example of diminishing returns:

Set 1: x weight, 15 reps
Set 2: x weight, 20 reps
Set 3: x weight, 25 reps
Set 4: x weight, 17 reps
Set 5: x weight, 12 reps

As you can see, Set 4 is the point of diminishing returns in this example. While everything else was static, you were not able to continue your progression to more and more reps with each set. Note that diminishing returns is not confined to repetitions. You can have diminishing returns on the amount of weight you lift or even the time in between sets.

Identifying the point of diminishing returns is an important part of strength training. You need to know when your body is tired, when you can push it further and when you need to stop immediately due to fatigue and exhaustion.

I will probably take more measurements within the next week. I have been trying to restrict my caloric intake even more and push myself harder at the gym. Today was chest and it is already sore. I'll be sure to post results.

Until then..

Success!

I did not think I would be able to do this for a long time. Today, I was finishing up my last forearm exercise when I decided to try it. I have done this many times before and can normally make it halfway through. But, today I just focused and finally did it! I was shocked because it has been nearly a decade since I was able to do one...single...pull-up.

You often see cruddy advertisements on television featuring some product like the Iron Gym or whatever it's called. It is so funny for two reasons. First, they want to make you think that if you just buy their craptastic product, you will look like the chiseled model. Second, they obviously think that the product is for normal people. Here is a little fact: normal people cannot do pull-ups. Go try it. Just do one. Make sure not to kip ('kipping' means jerking your body in order to generate momentum to help you complete the rep. A synonym for this word in the weightlifting world is 'cheating')! I still weigh slightly more than 200 Ibs which means my arms have to lift 200 Ibs off of the ground to the point where my chin clears the 8' tall (or so) bar. It is very difficult. Just to make sure it was not a fluke, I tried it again. The second was tougher but I still managed.

Tomorrow, I will try to do sets of 5 pull-ups. Progressive is so wonderful :)

Until then..

New Regimen

I was gone this weekend and decided to splurge on food. Normally I don't do this but I made an exception...it's been a while since I was on vacation. Anyway, if the weights in my gym are accurate, I gained 2.25 Ibs over the weekend! Before that, I started implementing a new regimen:

Days 1, 3 and 5: Strength training days: weights then abs then cardio then sauna then pool
Days 2, 4 and 6: Abs then cardio (double time) then sauna then pool
Day 7: rest

So far so good. Before I left for the weekend, I was down to 16% body fat and 202 Ibs.

I'll keep you posted on my progress.

Until then..

Blah Days

It happens to everyone, and today it happened to me. I am unsure whether it was due to lack of sleep, the heavy steak and cheese sandwich I ate pre-workout or the negative energy that arose as a result of a problem one of my roommates had. Whatever caused it, this has been one of those "blah" days. You simply do not feel like doing anything productive. You just want to eat whatever you want, whenever you want and then, once your gluttonous needs have been met, you just want to climb back into bed and hibernate until next year. You have to constantly remind yourself why you even bother working out, you notice your physical flaws and you ruminate over them. It seems nothing you do will accomplish that goal--the way you want to look and feel.

So, what do I do about "blah" days?

I remind myself of how far I have come in my weight-loss journey. I recall that just over one year ago, I had trouble bending over to tie my own shoes. I remember buying two pairs of 40" waist shorts--the same ones that have to be worn with a belt today because of all the hard work I have put into transforming my body. I tell myself many many times while at the gym that I do not need to lose another 1% body fat right now, this instant; I only need to survive today, to get through my current workout and that I will enjoy the pleasures that await me later--namely a good soak in the hot tub and a good dinner. While I believe this is not the right day-to-day attitude, sometimes it is necessary in order to survive the blah days.

Whenever you have a blah day, just go about business as usual. This is where your mind will prove its worth. Your mental fortitude that you have been reinforcing this whole time will carry you into the next day. Just believe in yourself, realize that you have been advancing towards your goal for a while now and today is no different. Sure, your workout today may be awful and nearly unbearable mentally and your body will probably react to that in some fashion. But it is better than giving up or allowing this to become a pattern. Blah days happen to everyone occasionally--it is part of human nature. We do not change instantaneously. Think of your next blah day as a test of your patience and your dedication. Then assure yourself that you will survive and be stronger tomorrow.

Until then..

Results --1st Goal Obtained!

I'll be sure to post pics later, but I look a LOT better than my last pics. My first set of goals was to drop down to 15% body fat and 205 Ibs. Currently, I weigh less than 205 Ibs but I still have around 16.25% body fat :( My new goal is to drop to 190 and see how I look then and what my body fat % is once I get there. By then, I should be below 15% BF but we'll see. After that, depending on the look, I will either continue to drop down to perhaps 185 or even 180 if necessary and 12% BF. Once I am satisfied with my BF %, I will start bulking back up--probably to 205. Should only be a day or two on those new pics.

Until then..

Change in Blog Post Titles!

As you may have noticed, I stopped with the whole "Day x" routine--mainly because they are boring but also because it is probably daunting to read day after day after day of blog posts: regimen, exercise/weight/reps then abs/reps then cardio/time then Diet/feedings etc etc. I figured I should change it up a little so I will try to focus on some struggles I have to overcome as well as some basic info on what is going on.

Next post: results!

Until then..

Double the Cardio Double the Fun

I did abs/cardio today--I noticed very quickly that doubling the cardio from one day to the next is quite demanding. As usual, we worked our abs first then did cardio. Here's the workout:

Abs

• Push-up crunches - raise your legs so they are nearly vertical, no bend in the knees. Raise your fingers and touch your toes. Now do this 50 times.
• We sat side-by-side and did ball twists so the ball completed 50 relays.

Do this entire circuit 3 times.

Cardio

• 20 minutes on the crossramp
• 20 minutes on the elliptical
• 20 minutes on the bike

Diet
Feeding 1 - bowl of chicken noodle soup and a fruit smoothie
Feeding 2 - handful of hawaiian bread and 1 tbs of peanut butter
Feeding 3 - post-workout shake
Feeding 4 - pot roast with carrots, celery and potatoes
Feeding 5 - 60 calorie fruit snack
Feeding 6 - glass of orange juice

Tomorrow is rest day followed by legs most likely.

Until then..

Day 31

This is actually a composite of the past 3 days...I meant to write different posts for each day but not everything goes as planned, so here we go:

Day 1: Abs/Cardio

• Side crunches - 20-25-30 (each side)
• Planks - 20-25-30 seconds
• 30 minutes on the elliptical for cardio (15 forward, 15 backward)

Day 2: Chest

• Smith bench press - 135 Ibs, 10-10-10 reps/set
• Incline chest press - 85 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set
• Incline shoulder raise - 95 Ibs - 20-25-30 reps/set
• Weighted chest dip - 125 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set
• Wall crunches for abs @ 0-45-90 degrees, 50 reps/set
• Stairmaster for cardio - 15 minutes

Day 3: Biceps/Forearms

• Seated rows - 70 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set (each arm)
• Alternating curls (standing), 30 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set (each arm)
• Pronated wrist flexors - 25 Ibs, 20-25-30 reps/set
• Supinated wrist flexors - 25 Ibs, 20-25-30 reps/set
• Lever preacher curl - 100 Ibs, 30 seconds release/set x3
• Cable twists for oblique abs - 50 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set (each side)
• Kathy Lee's - 10-15-20 reps/set
• 30 minutes on the exercise bike + 10 minutes of swimming laps for cardio

Diet for Day 3:
Feeding 1 - bowl of potato leek soup, 1/2 turkey sandwich
Feeding 2 - fruit smoothie
Feeding 3 - post-workout shake
Feeding 4 - 2 hamburger patties, rice pilaf, peas
Feeding 5 - 60 calorie fruit snack
Feeding 6 - 100 calorie snack pack

Tomorrow is probably abs/cardio even though my abs are going to be sore. After day 2, my shoulder felt a little sore so I iced/heated it and by Day 3 it felt fine. On abs/cardio days I'm increasing the cardio time to a full hour instead of 30 minutes.

Until then..

Day 30

Shoulders/forearms. My workout buddies are feeling the pain from triceps, abs and legs particularly. Today went pretty well. Not sure what tomorrow will be (perhaps abs/cardio depending on soreness levels). Here's the regimen:

• Shrugs - 100 Ibs, 15-20-25 reps/set
• Supinated wrist flexors - 20 Ibs, 20-25-30 reps/set (weight was a little light I think--could have done 25 Ibs)
• Military press - 20 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set
• Forward/lateral flyes - 10 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set

Abs
I made this one up and my workout buddies really loved it (ok not really but still).

• Starting position - lying on back with large ball held by legs held a few inches off the floor
• Position 1 - reach up and take the ball from your legs with your hands, keeping arms and legs straight, then return to starting position but with the ball in your hands (do not allow any limb to touch the floor)
• Position 2 - give the ball back to your legs and return to starting position
• Position 3 - lift the ball with your legs straight up into the air (perpendicular to the floor) and then move your legs to one side while keeping your torso straight (your entire back should still be touching the floor)
• Position 4 - lift the ball to the other side with your legs then return to starting position

All of that is 1 rep.
Now do 15 reps.

Cardio

• 20 minutes on exercise bike
• 10 minutes swimming laps in the pool

Diet
Feeding 1 - large breakfast which included 2 slices of wheat toast (too much butter), 4 pieces of bacon (very little grease), 2 eggs (over medium), O'Brien potatoes with cheese
Feeding 2 - fruit smoothie
Feeding 3 - post-workout shake
Feeding 4 - cheat meal (back to Tulsa Rib Co.): half rack of baby back ribs, french fries, creamed corn, cornbread, potato salad (notice how I said cheat meal)
Feeding 5 - 16 oz. of hot chocolate (not really a feeding but meh)
Feeding 6 - 60 calorie fruit snack
Feeding 7 - 100 calorie snack pack

We'll see how my workout buddies feel tomorrow before I make any promises or prophecies on the workout regimen.

Until then..

Day 29

I skipped yesterday mostly due to bicep issues but more so I could not get away to the gym. However, today I did triceps for the first time in a while and it felt pretty good. I definitely feel stronger and it shows in the increased weight:

Strength training

• Cable pulldowns - 30 Ibs (with rope attachment), 10-12-15 reps/set
• Overhead tricep extensions - 30 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set
• Tricep pushups - 10-12-15 reps/set (I should have done more of these--more like 15-18-20 or something like that)
• Assisted dips - 100 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set (remember that the greater the weight on this machine, the harder it is...the maximum weight for this particular machine at my gym is 185 Ibs)
• Tricep extensions - 70 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set
• Tricep extensions (alternating arms, different machine) - 35 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set (each arm)

Abs

• I completely forgot about abs today...I was training one of my workout buddies and it completely left my mind.

Cardio

• 15 minutes on the bike
• 15 minutes swimming laps

Diet
Feeding 1 - stir-fry (vegetables, steamed rice, boiled chicken)
Feeding 2 - post-workout shake
Feeding 3 - turkeyloaf, mixed vegetables, rice pilaf
Feeding 4 - 10 strawberries
Feeding 5 - 60 calorie fruit snack
Feeding 6 - 100 calorie snack pack

Tomorrow will probably be shoulders/forearms but maybe chest. I'm thinking the former because I anticipate a lot of soreness in my triceps.

Until then..

Day 28

Legs day. I'm still introducing my new workout buddies to strength training and such so I find myself cutting back a little on my own regimen so I can make sure they are using proper form and not injuring themselves. Now I understand why professional trainers never train themselves while they are training others. For the past two days, we have spent about 3 hours each day at the gym. Hopefully, our routine will become more efficient and we will move to supersets and reduce the time we spent standing around waiting for the other person to finish up the current set. Anyway, here's the regimen for the day:

• Leg extension - 70 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set (weight was light)
• Hip abductions - 110 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set (each leg)
• Calf raises - on top of 45 Ibs weight, 30-40-50 reps/set
• Leg press - 110 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set
• Lying leg curls - 100 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set
• Kneeling leg curls - 130 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set

Abs

• Twists - w/ 8 Ibs medicine ball, 20-20-20 reps/set (each side = 1/2 rep)
• Hold medicine ball with knees bent towards the stomach while lying on back for 10 seconds, then straighten legs a few inches above the floor for 10 seconds - x3

Cardio

• Swam laps for about half an hour

Diet
Feeding 1 - 1/2 turkey sandwich, bowl of chicken noodle soup
Feeding 2 - post-workout shake
Feeding 3 - 2 x 8oz chicken breasts, steamed vegetables, rice
Feeding 4 - 60 calorie snack pack
Feeding 5 - 100 calorie snack pack
Feeding 6 - 2 small cans of V8 (low sodium)

I am planning shoulders/forearms for tomorrow but my left bicep is still very sore. We'll see how it goes...perhaps it will be another abs/cardio day.

Until then..

Day 27

Biceps--my personal favorite muscle group. My workout buddies are already sore (guess I trained them well on the first day of weights).

Regimen

• Preacher curl - 70 Ibs (machine), 10-12-10 (30 second release) reps/set
• Seated alternating curl - 35 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set (each arm)
• Inclined curl - 25 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set
• Declined curl - 25 Ibs, 30 second release x3

Abs

• Lever seated crunch - 120 Ibs, 20,30,40 reps/set
• Lever twist - 90 Ibs, 10-15-20 reps/set (each side)

Cardio

• 15 minutes on elliptical
• 15 minutes swimming laps

Tomorrow is rest day. I'll probably still do sauna/hot tub/pool though for muscle relaxation. My lower back is still very sore--heating pad will probably help (15 minutes on, 15 off).

Day after tomorrow is probably legs (unfortunately).

Until then..

Day 26

Abs/cardio. I started with my new workout buddies who have been away from the gym for a while so we decided to start slowly.

Abs

• Crunch circuits - side crunches (each side) and straight crunches, 25-30-35 reps/set (each)

Cardio

• 30 minutes on the exercise bike--did about 10 miles

Diet
Feeding 1 - bowl of chicken noodle soup
Feeding 2 - small glass of grape juice, 60 calorie fruit snack
Feeding 3 - post-workout shake
Feeding 4 - grilled beef (85/15), mushrooms and onion and peas & rice
Feeding 5 - 100 calorie snack pack
Feeding 6 - forgot...again

Tomorrow is biceps. Looking forward to it. Normally I would take a day off here but my buddies are really excited to start strength training so that day off can wait.

Until then..

Day 25

Today was back. It was pretty strenuous--so much so that I could not finish the workout. I did all my back exercises and my upper/lower abs but after that my blood sugar dropped because I did not eat well enough (that happens a lot actually). As a result, I stopped, drank my post-workout shake early (I needed to feed badly) and spent half an hour on the treadmill to take it easy but still fulfill the cardio portion of my regimen.

Strength training

• Hyperextensions - 45 Ibs, 15-10-8 reps/set (the weight was very clumsy and difficult to manage)
• Lower back extensions - 100 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set
• Seated high row - 100 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set
• Lat pulldowns - 100 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set

Abs

• Seated crunch - 110 Ibs (lever), 20-20-20 reps/set

Cardio

• 30 minutes on the treadmill

I also did sauna/hot tub/pool (for stretching) after my workout

Diet
Feeding 1 - bowl of butternut squash V8 soup (very little protein--let that be a lesson to you...you need protein even before your workout)
Feeding 2 - post-workout shake
Feeding 3 - 4 oz salmon, asparagus, mashed potatoes, triple chocolate brownie w/ vanilla ice cream
Feeding 4 - 60 calorie fruit snack
Feeding 5 - 100 calorie snack pack
Feeding 6 - ate lunch way too late today which threw off my schedule

Tomorrow is abs/cardio day. I'm really excited because I have two new roommates whom I get to start training. Motivation is always easier to come by when you are not alone.

Until then..

Day 24

Abs and cardio today. After nearly one week of absence from the gym, I figured I would take it easy today and just work on fat burning.

Abs

• Twisting crunches - lying on your back with one leg on knee. Elbow to opposite knee (each side), 30-35-40 reps/set
• Crunches - 30-35-40 reps/set

Cardio

• 30 minutes on the elliptical machine, resistance 6. Today, I did about 3 miles in 30 minutes, burning over 300 calories.

Diet
Feeding 1 - cup o' noodles soup (not a great choice but it was the only available choice)
Feeding 2 - post-workout shake
Feeding 3 - 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, 2 cups of Spanish rice, 2 cups of mixed vegetables
Feeding 4 - 100 calorie snack pack
Feeding 5 - 60 calorie fruit snack
Feeding 6 - 100 calorie snack pack

Tomorrow is definitely back day.

Until then..

Day 23

Today was chest day. I am still successful at performing new exercises (except abs) each day. I am not certain how long I will be able to do this without repeating, but it has been nearly 30 solid days without a single repeat so hopefully there will be no plateaus in my future. Today's regimen:

Strength Training

• Bench press - 135 Ibs (smith), 8-8-8 reps/set
• Incline bench press - 95 Ibs (smith), 8-10-12 reps/set
• Decline chess press - 60 Ibs (machine), 10-12-15 reps/set
• Incline shoulder raise - 25 Ibs (dumbbell, simultaneous), 15-15-15 reps/set

Abs

• With 8 Ibs medicine ball, begin with knees bent inwards towards stomach while lying flat on your back. Hold the medicine ball on your legs for 10 seconds, then straighten your legs while holding the medicine ball a few inches off the ground. Repeat two more times.
• Abdominal twists with 8 Ibs medicine ball

Repeat the circuit a total of 3 times.

Cardio

• 28 minutes on the Crossramp

Diet
Feeding 1 - soup/salad/breadsticks at Olive Garden
Feeding 2 - 100 calorie snack pack
Feeding 3 - post-workout shake
Feeding 4 - half roast beef sandwich (light mayonnaise) and cup of clam chowder
Feeding 5 - two small cans of V8 (5.5 fl oz, low sodium)
Feeding 6 -

Additionally, today was the first day back at my old gym in CA. I also visit the gym at night where I spend 10 minutes in the sauna, 10-15 minutes in the hot tub, then I sometimes stretch in the pool and shower. It's a great way to end the day.

Not sure what tomorrow's workout will entail--I'll keep you posted.

Until then..

Day 22

Today was arms--nothing but arms (well ok and abs too). Today was a maintenance day. The workout was not very strenuous but it didn't hurt either. Unfortunately, there was no time left at the end for cardio. Particularly during the ab exercise, it was obvious how far I had come in just one month.

Regimen
Superset 1

• Seated pronator/supinators - 20 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set (each direction)
  
• Tricep pushdowns - 30 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set
  

Superset 2

• Cable alternating seated pushdown - 25 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set
• Prone incline curl - 20 Ibs (dumbbell), 10-12-15 reps/set

Superset 3

• Preacher curl - 90 Ibs, hold bar in starting position (close to the chest), slowly lower to resting position over a period of 30 seconds
• Reverse wrist curls - 25 Ibs (seated), 25-30-35 reps/set

Abs

• Kathy Lee's - 10/12/15 reps/set

Diet
Feeding 1 - can of V8 (low sodium)
Feeding 2 - bowl of lentil soup
Feeding 3 - 4 x small peanut butter crackers
Feeding 4 - cheat meal (my favorite restaurant--Kabuki!)
Feeding 5 - cup of applesauce
Feeding 6 -100 calorie snack pack (Oreo)

I'm taking the next day and the weekend off. Hopefully, I will start back up again with a new routine. I am switching back to my old gym which I am very happy about because it has a hot tub!

Until then..

Day 21

Abs/cardio (again). My workout partner never makes Wednesdays it seems--something always comes up. Usually, he has to work out of town and then drive 90 minutes to get back. By the time he arrives, it's pretty late. Anyway, here's what I did today:

Abs

• Crunch rotations - left side/center/right side, 50-50-50 reps/set, 3 circuits

Cardio

• 28 minutes on the Crossramp
  

Diet
Feeding 1 - fruit smoothie
Feeding 2 - 6" oven roasted chicken breast sandwich
Feeding 3 - post-workout shake
Feeding 4 - 2 x 6 oz chicken breast, 2 tbs of honey dijon sauce, sauteed mushrooms, mashed potatoes & gravy, green beans, 2 honey butter croissant rolls
Feeding 5 - 1/2 oreo sundae
Feeding 6 - handful of Hawaiian bread, 1 1/2 tbs peanut butter

Tomorrow is arms--all arms, nothing but arms (well, abs + cardio too).

Until then..

Day 20

Today was legs...my favorite muscle group (not really). My legs feel like rubber. We focused more on squat exercises than anything else. We were using the smith machine most of the time, but spotting is still important so no supersets today (except for the last part).

Exercises

• Squats - 90 Ibs (smith machine), 10-12-15 reps/set
• Reverse lunges - 50 Ibs (smith, alternating), 10-12-15 reps/set
• Good mornings - 50 Ibs (smith), 10-12-15 reps/set
• Calf raises - (on a 45 Ibs weight), 25-30-35 reps/set
• Hip abductions - 90 Ibs (outward then inward superset), 10-12-15 reps/set

Abs

• Side-to-sides - (w/ 4 Ibs medicine ball), 25-30-35 reps/set (each side)
• Ball drops - (2 inches in the air above the abdomen), 10-12-15 reps/set

Cardio

• 20 minutes on treadmill

Diet
Feeding 1 - fruit smoothie
Feeding 2 - bowl of butternut squash soup
Feeding 3 - post-workout shake
Feeding 4 - 2 x chopped steak, mashed potatoes & gravy, green beans, baked fish, 2 pieces of fried catfish, steamed carrots
Feeding 5 - cup of applesauce
Feeding 6 - 4 small peanut butter crackers

Not sure what tomorrow's workout will be...I'm thinking biceps.

Until then..

Day 19

Today was just abs/cardio. My workout partner had a dinner engagement so I decided to just burn some fat.

Abs

• 15 decline situps (warmup)
• Vertical leg raises - weighted, 10-12-15 reps/set
• Lever twist - 70 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set (each side)

Cardio

• Weight loss program on the Crossramp

Diet
Feeding 1 - Fruit smoothie
Feeding 2 - grilled chicken breast (8 oz), mashed potatoes & gravy, green beans, 2 slices of Texas toast
Feeding 3 - post-workout shake
Feeding 4 - 6" oven roasted chicken breast sandwich
Feeding 5 - 1 cup of applesauce
Feeding 6 - Hawaiian bread (handful), 1 tbsp peanut butter

Tomorrow is legs...yay

Until then..

Day 18

Backity back! All in all, I think this was one of my weakest workouts--sometimes you just don't feel it. Today was one of those days.

Exercise 1 (warm up)

• Back Extensions - 130 Ibs (machine), 10-12-15 reps/set

Superset 1

• Close Grip Pulldown - 60 Ibs (cable), 10-12-15 reps/set
• One Arm Standing High Row - 30 Ibs (cable), 10-12-15 reps/set

Superset 2

• Pullovers - 30 Ibs (cable), 10-12-15 reps/set
• Shrugs - 60 Ibs (cable), 10-12-15 reps/set

Superset 3

• Seated Shoulder External Rotation - 15 Ibs (cable), 10-12-15 reps/set (each arm)
• Seated Shoulder Internal Rotation - 15 Ibs (cable), 10-12-15 reps/set (each arm)

Abs

• Caterpillars - 5 circuits. (1) all fours touching the mat (hands and feet--no knees); (2) push up position, bottom low to the ground for 5 seconds; (3) walk hands back toward legs as close as possible, hold for 5 seconds; (4) back to original position, bringing right knee to left elbow, left knee to right elbow, twice. Repeat
• Crunches - left side, forward, right side, 20-25-30 reps/set

Cardio

• Due to time constraints today, I only did 10 minutes on the bike

Diet
Feeding 1 - fruit smoothie
Feeding 2 - 6" oven roasted chicken breast sandwich
Feeding 3 - post-workout shake
Feeding 4 - cheat meal (two words, "endless shrimp")
Feeding 5 - 8 whole wheat wheat thin crackers
Feeding 6 - can of V8 (original)

Tomorrow will probably be another abs/cardio day since my workout partner will most likely not show up due to work plus I'm trying to cut weight anyway so I have no problem interspersing abs/cardio days with weight lifting days at this point.

Until then..

Day 17

Today, I just did abs & cardio. As I thought, my shoulders are pretty sore (will be even worse tomorrow) and my workout partner couldn't make it. Since I had been doing water aerobics on Wednesdays, I was going to continue until they cancelled the class on Wed nights...

Abs

• Regular crunches and side crunches - 30-40-50 reps/set middle & each side

Cardio

• 30 minutes on elliptical--weight loss program again, 15 min forward, 15 back

Diet

Feeding 1 - 6" oven roasted chicken breast sandwich
Feeding 2 - fruit smoothie
Feeding 3 - post workout shake
Feeding 4 - 2 chopped steak (about 6 0z per), mashed potatoes & gravy, steamed rice, two pieces of sliced turkey, green beans, carrots, 3 pieces of fried catfish
Feeding 5 - 8 whole wheat wheat thin crackers
Feeding 6 - can of V8 (regular)

Tomorrow is back day...yay.

Until then..

Day 16

Today was shoulders & forearms day. I can already start to feel the soreness in my shoulders so it was a good day. I've also started ramping the cardio to the full weight loss program length (about 27-30 minutes). Here's today's regimen:

Superset 1

• Arnold Press - 20 Ibs (dumbbell), 10-12-15 reps/set
• Front Lateral Raise - 15 Ibs (dumbbell, each arm), 10-12-15 reps/set

Superset 2

• Rear Delt Row - 20 Ibs (dumbbell, each arm), 10-12-15 reps/set --weight was too light
• Suponated Forearm Curl - 15 Ibs (dumbbell), 20-25-30 reps/set

Superset 3

• Incline Lateral Raise - 15 Ibs (dumbbell, each arm), 10-12-15 reps/set
• Pronated Forearm Curl - 15 Ibs (dumbbell), 20-25-30 reps/set

Abs

• Push Crunch - 20 Ibs (dumbbell, decline bench), 20-25-30 reps/set
• Cable Twist - 22.5 Ibs (cable, each side), 10-12-15 reps/set

Cardio

• 30 minutes on the Cross Ramp, 15 minutes forward, 15 backward, 2.00 miles, 300 calories burned

Diet

Feeding 1 - fruit smoothie
Feeding 2 - 6" oven roasted chicken breast sandwich
Feeding 3 - post-workout shake
Feeding 4 - chicken crispy taco plate (all rice)
Feeding 5 - baked apple pie from McDonald's
Feeding 6 - can of V8 (regular), 8 whole wheat wheat thin crackers

Tomorrow is probably back since my shoulders will be extremely sore. Day after that is shaping up to be legs, then the following two days will be chest and triceps. However, I may switch these around and intersperse them with legs...depends how I feel.

Until then..

Day 15

Today, I did abs & cardio. I am still sore in my upper and lower body but it should subside tomorrow so I can resume strength training. Additionally, I'm not as far along as I had hoped in terms of cutting weight so I have tried to cut down on my diet and increase my time on the cardio machine. Here's the regimen for the day:

Abs

• Cable twists - 22.5 Ibs (first one direction then the other), 20-25-30 reps/set (each)
• Jack-knife crunches - 15-15-15 reps/set

Cardio
Today, I did the full weight loss program (about 25 minutes). In that time I think I traveled 3 miles and burned 300 calories (according to the machine).

Diet
Feeding 1 - fruit smoothie
Feeding 2 - 6" chicken terriyaki sandwich (no chips)
Feeding 3 - post-workout shake
Feeding 4 - 6 oz. chicken breast, mashed potatoes & gravy, green beans, texas toast (2 slices)
Feeding 5 -8 whole wheat wheat thin crackers
Feeding 6 - 6 small peanut butter crackers

We'll see what is sore and what is not tomorrow--that will decide which muscle group I work.

Until then..

Day 14

Chest & Triceps day--one of my favorite days. My workout partner struggled through a lot of the exercises. He's new to using proper form when working out so I helped him perfect his form which takes a little time. All the exercises we have been doing are new (we have yet to repeat a single exercise I think) so it takes more time to explain, demonstrate, etc than it would if we just repeated a few exercises every day or week. Here's the regimen:

Superset 1

• Arm extensions - 70 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set
• Tricep extensions - 20 Ibs (sitting on ball, dumbbell), 10-12-15 reps/set
  

Superset 2

• Standing fly - 50 Ibs (cable), 10-12-15 reps/set
• Lever chest dip - 90 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set

Superset 3

• Lever chest press - 50 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set --weight was too light
• Kickbacks, modified - 15 Ibs (standing, bent over, both arms simultaneously), 10-12-15 reps/set

Abs
This was the really difficult part. There were two exercises. The first one took a long time to correct the form.

• Control exercise (I made this up) - consists of four positions. 1) lie flat on the mat with feet together and a few inches off the ground. 2) bring your knees up to your stomach. 3) straighten legs fully so they are pointing up to the ceiling. 4) lift your body except for shoulders, neck, head and arms, off the ground toward the ceiling. Then, return to position (3) then (2) then (1). Do 10 of these.
• Oblique crunches - crunch as normal except instead of rising straight up, rise first to the left and then to the right. Do 10 of these.

Repeat this circuit three times without changing the reps.

Cardio
No time for cardio today because it took nearly 90 minutes to correct the form on various exercises.

Diet
Feeding 1 - fruit smoothie
Feeding 2 - 6" oven roasted chicken breast sandwich w/ 100 calorie pringles
Feeding 3 - post-workout shake
Feeding 4 - Jack Daniels chicken sandwich @ Friday's with crispy green bean fries (cheat meal if you didn't guess already)
Feeding 5 - 8 x whole wheat wheat thin crackers
Feeding 6 - 6 x small peanut butter crackers

Now, I have the weekend to rest since my entire body now is sore. I'll upload some pictures and write an evaluation post for the past 2 weeks.

Until then..

Day 13

Today, I had my entire workout planned out and was ready to go. When I arrived at the gym, I noticed that there were no foot straps for the cable machine. At this point, over half my workout was not doable so I had to improvise. Because the machines I used were far away from each other, I had to do regular sets instead of supersets. Here's what I did:

Weights

• V squats - 140 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set
• Isometric kneeling leg curls - 45 Ibs each leg (alternating legs), 10-12-15 reps/set
• Seated calf raise - 90 Ibs, 15-20-25 reps/set
• Seated leg curls - 70 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set - weight was too light

Abs

• Abdominal crunches, 30-40-50 reps/set (I made sure to keep my knees off the floor, touching elbows to knees every rep).
• My exercise partner and I sat back-to-back and passed a 10 Ibs weight back and forth, first one direction, then the other. This exercise is really meant for a medicine ball..

Cardio

• Always treadmill on leg days

Diet

Feeding 1 - fruit smoothie
Feeding 2 - 6" oven roasted chicken breast sandwich. 100 calorie pack of baked pringles
Feeding 3 - post-workout shake
Feeding 4 - peas, mashed potatoes, ground beef w/ grilled onion
Feeding 5 - 6 x small peanut butter crackers, 1 oreo cookie (my wife couldn't eat her three)
Feeding 6 - 5.5 fl oz. can of V8 (low sodium), 8 x whole wheat wheat thin crackers

Tomorrow is chest/triceps day, RAWR!

Until then..

Day 12

My shoulders were not too sore today, so I did back/biceps. Again, I continued with the supersets (save two exercises--they were at opposite ends of the gym) then followed with abs and then cardio. All in all, it was a pretty decent workout:

Superset 1

• Close grip pulldown - 50 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set
• Seated concentration curls - 22.5 Ibs (cable), 10-12-15 reps/set each arm
  

Superset 2

• Seated row - 50 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set
  
• Standing alternating curls - 22.5 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set each arm

Exercise 5

• Incline pull down - 70 Ibs (machine), 10-12-15 reps/set --weight was too light
  
• Decline curls - 45 Ibs (machine), 10-12-15 reps/set --weight was too heavy on final set so I stopped at 6 reps and slowly lowered the weight down over 30 seconds

Abs

• Floor sweepers with variation: basically, take a straight barbell, throw 2 x 45 Ibs weights on each side (total of 180 Ibs counting both sides) and place the barbell at the edge of the mat. Lie down with your hands gripping the barbell. With your knees straight and feet together, raise your feet upwards to the left, back down (do not let your feet touch the mat), straight up, back down, upwards to the right, back down--that is one set. 1st circuit = 5 sets, 2nd circuit = 8, 3rd circuit = 10.

Cardio

• 20 minutes on non-arm elliptical machine (forgot the technical name). 10 minutes front, 10 minutes reverse. From 7:30 to 10:00, I tried closing my eyes and removing my hands from the machine. Because you do not have visual or tactile balance, your abs work extra hard to make sure that you do not fall off the machine. I kept my hands very close to the machine, however. I did not try this in reverse.

Diet

Feeding 1 - fruit smoothie
Feeding 2 - 6" oven roasted chicken breast sandwich
Feeding 3 - post-workout shake
Feeding 4 - 3 crispy chicken taco plate
Feeding 5 - 8 x whole wheat wheat think crackers
Feeding 6 - 60 calorie double chocolate Jell-O pudding snack

Tomorrow is water aerobics day followed by Legs on Thursday.

Until then..

Day 11

Today was Shoulder/Forearms day. All in all, the workout went fairly quickly despite the fact that I tried out a lot of new exercises today.

Superset 1:

• Front Raise - 12.5 Ibs (cable, alternating arms), 10-12-15 reps/set
• Upright Row - 12.5 Ibs (cable, alternating arms), 10-12-15 reps/set

Superset 2:

• One Arm Standing Cross Row - 12.5 Ibs (cable, alternating arms), 10-12-15 reps/set
• Wrist Curls - 22.5 Ibs (cable, sitting on ball), 20-25-30 reps/set

Superset 3:

• Upright Row - 22.5 Ibs (cable), 10-12-15 reps/set
• Reverse Curls - 12.5 Ibs (cable), 10-12-15 reps/set

Abs:

Again, I did five circuits beginning with 10 seconds on each exercise:

• Bicycles
• Hovers (have no idea what the technical name for these are--you just keep your feet and head 6" off the ground)

Circuit 1 = 10 seconds, circuit 2 = 15, circuit 3 = 20 seconds and so on.
Each circuit = Bicycles for x seconds immediately followed by hovers for x seconds then rest. The first circuit or two weren't bad, but by the time I reached circuit #5 it was very difficult to do.

Cardio:

• 20 minutes on the elliptical machine
  

Diet:
Feeding 1 - fruit smoothie
Feeding 2 - 6" oven roasted chicken breast sandwich, bag of baked lays chips
Feeding 3 - post-workout shake
Feeding 4 - roast beef sandwich, provolone, mayo, grilled onions & bell peppers, white bread, minimal au jus, dilled pickle, cup of broccoli cheese soup
Feeding 5 - baked apple pie from McDonald's (yah I know--only real bad thing in it is the fat)
Feeding 6 - 6 x small peanut butter crackers

Tomorrow should be back/biceps day but we'll see how sore my shoulders are...I may have to put that workout off until Thursday and do legs again tomorrow.

Until then..

Day 10

As promised, today was chest/triceps day. Beginning today, I tried isolating specific muscle groups as well as supersetting so as to cut down on inactive time between sets.

1st Superset:

• Incline Bench Dumbbell Press - 20 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set
• Tricep Pushups, 10-15-20 reps/set

2nd Superset:

• Cable Rope Pulldowns - 22.5 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set
• Cable Tricep Extensions - 22.5 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set
  

3rd Superset:

• Flat Bench Dumbbell Press - 20 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set
• Decline Bench Dumbbell Press - 20 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set

Abs:
Again, I am just making these names up as I go (along with the exercises themselves). Here's the circuit:

• Planks - 10 seconds
• Right Side Plank - 10 seconds
• Reverse Plank - 10 seconds
• Left Side Plank - 10 seconds

5 circuits, increasing the duration of each exercise by 5 seconds. So, the second circuit will be 15 seconds for each exercise, the third circuit will be 20 seconds, and so on.

Cardio:
20 minutes on the treadmill.

Diet:
Sorry, but I cannot remember what I ate. This was last Thursday and it is now Sunday. I will try to update this Blog immediately after workout rather than late at night.

Day 9

Water aerobics day. Many people think this is for those too weak to handle strength training in the gym. However, water aerobics is just like any other type. True, you are building resistance under the water, but you also weigh much less under water and it is consequently easier to perform exercises. I do not compare water aerobics to weight lifting because they are two different things. When done right, water aerobics serves as a nice cardio routine. Additionally, it can tone your body a little especially when paired with swimming. But, to be realistic, you will never see a muscular body as a result of only doing water aerobics.

That being said, it was a nice break from weight lifting which is why I've placed it in the middle of the week. A lot of the exercises are spontaneous except for the laps around the lazy river--with and against the current, forwards and backwards, side-to-side, etc. If you take it seriously and ramp it up to the best of your ability, you can really benefit from these exercises.

As for diet:

Feeding 1 - fruit smoothie
Feeding 2 - 2 hot dogs (pork, whole wheat buns) and green beans
Feeding 3 - post workout shake
Feeding 4 - terriyaki chicken breast (around 10 oz), 1 cup of steamed rice, mashed potatoes & gravy, dinner roll, steamed broccoli, carrots and zucchini.
Feeding 5 - glass of V8 juice (normal)
Feeding 6 - 6 Oreo cookies, small glass of 2% milk

Tomorrow is chest/triceps day.

Until then..

Day 8

As promised, today I began my 20/20/20 workout.

1st 20 minutes (legs):

• Gluts - 50 Ibs (machine, alternating legs), 10-12-15 reps/set
• Decline leg press - 180 Ibs, 10-12-15 reps/set
• Seated calf raise - 50 Ibs, 20-25-30 reps/set
• Hip Abductions - 50 Ibs (inside then outside), 10-12-15 reps/set

2nd 20 minutes (abs)

• Crunch circuits (right side obliques, center, left side, center, right side, switch), 10-15-20 reps/set(circuit). On these, I rested for 1 minute after each set or circuit. The "switch" means I began the next set with the opposite side. In other words, Set1 = right-center-left-center-right. Set2 = left-center-right-center-left. Set3 = right-center-left-center-right, and so on. After each circuit (or two sets), I increased the reps.

3rd 20 minutes (cardio)

• Bicycle machine for 20 minutes, fat burn workout, resistance adjusted accordingly.

Diet:

I have begun waking up earlier so as to place my workouts more in the middle of the day. As a result, I will now refer to my meals & snacks as feedings. I have cut back on my meals somewhat so they are closer to my snacks--at least close enough to all be subsumed under the label "feedings."

Feeding 1 - 16 oz fruit smoothie (5 strawberries, 1/2 apple, 1/2 peach, 1/2 banana, pineapple juice, orange/mango juice)
Feeding 2 - 6" oven roasted chicken breast sandwich
Feeding 3 - post workout shake
Feeding 4 - 3 crispy chicken tacos, rice, 2 flour tortillas, guacamole, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, cheese
Feeding 5 - 6 small peanut butter crackers
Feeding 6 - 6 oreo cookies, small glass (about 8 oz) of 2% milk

Tomorrow is water aerobics day..hope my legs aren't too sore.

Until then..

Day 7

Today was bicep/back/forearm day. Finally, the last of the introductory workouts to get my body used to lifting again. Here's the workout regimen:

• Frontal row - 50 Ibs, 10-20-30 reps/set
• Bicep curls - 20 Ib dumbbells (alternating arms), 10-12-15 reps/set
• Lower back extension (w/ 25 Ibs weight), 15-20-25 reps/set
• Forearm curls - 20 Ib dumbbells (standing), 10-12-15 reps/set
• Bicep machine curl - 30 Ibs (w/ hand rotators), 10-12-15 reps/set
• Palm up/palm down barbell wrist curls (2/1 sets, respectively) - 10-15-20 reps/set

Also did 20 minutes of cardio.

After Labor Day, I will ramp up the regimen a bit. This is the plan:
Mondays - Exercise group 1
Tuesdays - Exercise group 2
Wednesdays - water aerobics
Thursdays - Exercise group 4
Fridays - Exercise group 5

The exercise groups are: legs; triceps/chest; biceps/back; shoulders/forearms

Each day (except Wednesdays), I will try to divide my hour workout into:

• 20 minutes of weight lifting
• 20 minutes of abs and/or biometrics
  
• 20 minutes of cardio

This is not the idea workout, but if you have limited time and do not wish to spend all day at the gym, this is a quick, concise (yet precise) workout.

Until tomorrow..