Progress Excites Me (P1C2WA1)

I just realized I started my second workout cycle yesterday. Awwriiight~

It was a highly unexpected result, my measures, as I still feel like I’m vastly overeating. I’m still recording on paper when and how much of whatever I’m eating, but I’m not tracking the calories on The Daily Plate.

I’m not as anal about how much I’m eating as I used to be. Granted, it has to be less than enough, but what I’m doing now can be best-described as eating until I’m full once a day. If I mysteriously put on weight, I can easily backtrack into my records and tabulate the calories. If the numbers make sense, then I know I ate too much and I’ll have to back off. If they don’t quite, or there’s a lot of carbs in there, well! Water weight.

I’m slowly introducing a little more cardio, here-and-there. I don’t really have a set plan with it. I’m tentatively looking at days that I do yohimbine (fasted-cardio style), or post-workout. Something about fat being released into the bloodstream from the Y or the high-intensity activity, that makes me want to include cardio at those times. More on this in another post. I haven’t been as tenacious in my physiological studies as I used to be.

Saturday Cardio

1. 6:45AM: 15mg Yohimbine HCL + 200mg Caffeine (since I haven’t been posting on this as much, in the future this will be referred to as YC much like the ephedrine+caffeine stack is referred to as EC.)
2. 7:23AM: Slow warm-up. Easy-walking for about 12 minutes.
3. 7:35AM: Speed walking. Just walking quickly enough for it to be uncomfortable, for about 40 minutes.
4. 8:15AM: I didn’t plan my route, so when time was up I had to walk back home. Another 12 minutes.

Something I noted was that I had a really high blood sugar. I should have tested much, much earlier (on the order of around midnight, I’d say) but since I had only just realized it a couple of minutes after taking my YC, I just tested right then, at 380mg/dL. Insulin counteracts the effects of yohimbine, so I just went and did my cardio anyway.

A few minutes after I got home (around 8:30AM) I tested again at 292mg/dL. Still really high, but an 88-point drop is pretty significant. I don’t know if that would have worked from 188 to 100 (I don’t know why it wouldn’t but I’m not going to make that claim), but I think doing cardio with an untested threshold made the higher level of sugar a decent “safety net” though I wouldn’t ordinarily like to be anywhere near that high.

Workout for Sunday, June 6, 2010

Before leaving for the gym: EC1 @ 9:45AM

Bench Press

1. 45lbs. x 5
2. 50 x 3
3. 70 x 2
4. 90 x 7 (felt 50/50 on making the 8th rep; I decided not to risk it.)
5. 85 x 9

I’m going to increase this next workout.

Incline Press Machine

1. 45lbs. x 5
2. 75 x 3
3. 90 x 2
4. 120 x 4

Okay. Screw this machine. I can’t find a suitable place to set the lever (it’s either too-high to be useful or too low to not be damaging to my shoulders) so I’ll be moving back to the free-weight version.

Hammer-grip Horizontal Press Machine

1. 55lbs. x 3
2. 70 x 2
3. 90 x 8

Shoulders are bugging me now.

Pushdown

1. 32.5lbs. x 5
2. 37.5 x 2
3. 42.5 x 9

I cheated a tenth rep so I’m not counting it, making this fall below my desired range for increase. Next workout I’m dropping the first warm-up set to 3 reps, but keeping everything else. If I make 10 reps on A2 then I can increase the weight.

Pulldown

1. 45lbs. x 5
2. 70 x 3
3. 90 x 2
4. 115 x 6

I very nearly almost skipped doing these. I was hearing all sorts of excuses in my head during the tricep exercises. I switched on autopilot and let the excuses fly, hammering out possibly the best-form round of pulldowns I’ve ever done in my life. FUCK YEAH. Increasing the weight next workout.

Weighted Crunch Machine

1. 30lbs. x 5
2. 45 x 3
3. 60 x 2
4. 75 x 5

This isn’t, probably, going to be a regular exercise, but I thought in an effort to combat staleness in my routine I’d stick in a ‘reward’ exercise at the end. I chose crunches over calf raises because I’ve got something nasty happening on my left big toe joint and I’d like to establish that it’s not an infection before I harass it much more than I have.

Body Weight: 160.5lbs

Body Fat Percentage: 13.7% ~ I totally didn’t believe a lick of this, though before I saw it I mistook my BMI for my bodyfat percentage and had a mini-heart attack (23.7!?) I redid this reading multiple times and 13.7 was the first one to show up three times so I took it down. It was also the second-highest in the range (13.8 beat it) so it panders to my inner-pessimist.

Condition: B. ~ I very BARELY made it to the gym today. Had to roll off the couch and run down the parking lot in my underwear to make the ride to the gym, but I DID. So, yeah. I’m probably disproportionately proud of myself for having done that. Screw it.

Time in: 10AM
Time out: 12:35PM

I finished the workout at 12:20 but I sat in the locker room debating cardio for 15 minutes before I decided to leave and, if I started to regret it later… just do it later!

So I Regretted It and Came Back and This Is Treadmill

1. 1:42PM: EC2
2. 2:23PM: back in the gym. Warm-Up: 10 minutes at 2 incline/2mph. Heart Rate 102bpm
3. 2:35PM: HIIT: 5.5 minutes. Started and stopped with jog @ 4.5mph for 1.5min; run @ 6mph for 30sec. Incline set to 3 for both. Heart Rate 178bpm
4. 2:41PM: Rest. Talked to DJ in the locker room about cutting. He’s bulking, but cut for beach season.
5. 2:53PM: Steady State: 40 minutes at 3 incline/3mph. Heart Rate 135bpm
6. 3:35PM: Done.

I cut the HIIT short because I just am not fit enough for it. I was sweating and wheezing and my legs felt like they were going to fail out on me at any moment. (I wanted to total 10 minutes.)

So, then, while doing the steady state stuff I kept trying to convince myself to stop. But there weren’t any physical signs of needing to stop early, and any excuse I could come up with was quite easily squashed with “you’re not going to be burning any more fat than you are right now.”

But man, when 40 hit the clock I was off.

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Notation Notsure (Workout A1)

Yesterday was the beginning of my 26-week quest to sub-10% bodyfat.

TONETONETONE

I’m not really sure how to title these posts based upon what I’m doing. I was thinking something like “Cycle 1, Workout A1″ but then I realized that doesn’t really cover my dieting phases.

Phases: periods of dieting (DIETING IS A PHASE HURR)
Cycles: periods of training (since this is infinitely continuous)
Workout: eponymous

Phase 1 Cycle 1 Workout A1 just seems really cumbersome. P1C1WA1, aside from looking hilarious, just sounds a little clinical to me.

Maybe what I’ll do is have a normal post title and just try to cram that stuff in in parentheses. Almost like I did here with this post. I’d go back and change it but I’m too lazy to update the permalink too.

Workout for Monday, May 24, 2010

Something different that I did was walk on the treadmill between exercises.

T(readmill): incline/mph; time @ approx HR

Bench Press (free weight)

1. 45lbs. x 5
2. 50 x 3
3. 70 x 2
4. 85 x 8 (not bad)
5. 85 x 8 (last rep was slow as hell but I didn’t want to stop at 6)

Going to keep the weight here until it just ‘feels’ easier.

T: 2/2; 5min @ ~100bpm

Incline Press (machine)

1. 45lbs. x 5
2. 75 x 3
3. 90 x 2
4. 120 x 1 (SLOOOW, felt like I was choking!)

Obviously staying the weight.

T: 2.5/2; 5min @ ~90bpm

Hammer-Grip Horizontal Press

1. 50lbs. x 3
2. 70 x 2
3. 85 x 8 (pretty easy)

This exercise I definitely want to increase weight on.

T: 2.5/2.5; 5min @ ~105bpm

Pushdown

1. 27.5lbs. x 5
2. 32.5 x 2
3. 37.5 x 12

Again, pretty easy. Probably will increase next workout as well.

T: 3/2.5, 5min @ ~105bpm

Pulldown

1. 45lbs. x 5
2. 65 x 3
3. 85 x 2
4. 110lbs x 8

I could have done more probably, but my grip was failing. Especially on my right wrist which felt like my hand was being pulled out of the joint.

I’m going to increase the weight.

T: 3/3, 10min @ ~120bpm

Workout Time: 108 minutes

Body Weight: 167.5lbs
Body Fat Percentage: 17.4%

Condition: C+. Intention to come into this workout fasted went in the completely opposite direction of coming in carb-loaded. Didn’t get a full night’s sleep (too excited to work out, was anticipating a hair cut that I didn’t get.) I had a decently recuperative power nap pre-workout though. Had some peanut squares (kind of like peanut brittle, from Old Dominion) and a plain blueberry bagel about two hours preworkout due to a blood sugar crash.

Took EC about an hour preworkout and nearly two hours post, due to sauna (and just because that’s when it would have been timed, anyway.)

Pre-sauna weight: 168.5lbs
After 3 sessions, 20/10/10 = 40 minutes: 165.25lbs.

My goal was to try to drop three pounds and I did so, though it was more to lose the water from around my face to help gauge how my hair was going to look when I become leaner.

I ate a little under 1500kcal over the entire day, which is roughly half maintenance. I’ll be trying for maintenance today (should be pretty easy) and then fasting tomorrow.

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Almost-Fast Training

I have restructured my eating habits once again after an irritating set of circumstances led me to a wasted refeed.

Thursday I refed, Friday I missed my workout, Saturday I fasted, Sunday I worked out and refed again.

Refeeding before a workout has been my intention as I am always strongest the day after a refeed. Furthermore, since I spend most of the day not eating following a workout while I wait to be picked up, I just integrate that as the beginning of my fast. However, this has not proven to be the most flexible way of working things. If I miss a workout, I wind up in caloric excess, as I’ll wind up redoing the refeed. I could just pay better attention (thus solving a variety of problems at once) but I’m trying to condition responses so that I can automate/habitualize this nonsense so I don’t have to think about what I’m doing as often.

I think I’m just going to cut out refeeds from my plan, they are too much of a hassle.

I’ll just re-evaluate my maintenance needs and configure them so that they are more satisfying, and be more vigilant with my dedicated fasting days.

Workout for Sunday, February 7th, 2010

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Birthday Goal

Goal Statement: By my 20th birthday I will have visible abs.

Start: July 27th, 2009
Deadline: January 27th, 2010

Measurements

• Height: 5′ 9″
• Weight: 163.8lbs.
• Upper Arms (mid-bicep): 10.5″ (both arms)
• Waist: 33.5″; 34″; 35.75″ (two inches above; at; and two inches below navel)
• Hips: 38.75″
• Thighs: 24.5″; 25″ (right/left, measured directly below buttocks)
• Body Fat Percentage: 19.5%

Specifics

• 1400-1500 calories per day
• 6 meals per day
  1. Breakfast (320 calories): Bagel with slice of lowfat cheese
  2. Snack (140 calories): Protein shake
  3. Lunch (300 calories): Turkey on whole wheat with light mayo
  4. Snack (140 calories): Another protein shake
  5. Dinner (300 calories): Microwaveable meal
  6. Snack (180 calories): Protein bar
• Drink 1 to 2 gallons of ice-cold water per day
• Workouts are brief and intense, 1 set of 8-12 for the following exercises:
  1. Crunch
  2. Leg Curl
  3. Leg Extension
  4. Palms-up Pulldown
  5. Bench Press
  6. Oblique Crunch

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