Ok, So it has been too long since my last update. I basically fell off the wagon for awhile, I stopped working out, started eating junk again, and worst of all started smoking again. Not only did quitting all of this stuff make me rather cranky, but I just could not put together a cohesive positive thought for the life of me. Currently, I have a soft stomach again, and a Slurpee habit that I've yet to completely break, but at least I'm smoke free again. (Yes, I quit with force of will alone, and yes I quit for me.) So I'm far away from the hardening physique that I was building on my strict diet and workout regimen. If you're a couch potato, it's probably a good time to rejoin me and try to follow along.
After such a dramatic backslide, I've decided that my goals need adjustment as for me to get large is probably going to take some serious steroid abuse, and I don't believe in drugs. I'm working on just maintaining an active lifestyle right now and eating a mostly healthy diet.
My workout regime has lately been composed of 3-5 days of climbing at the climbing gym for 1-4 hours per session, running or hiking on my off days and some free climbing in there to spice things up. Since climbing and trail running are my passions at the moment, I am cross training to support these.
My workout is body weight only and I do this every morning (or night if i sleep in and miss the opportunity to do it before my morning shower.) Each workout is comprised of:
3 sets of pushups to failure
3 sets of pullups (widegrip) to failure
3 sets of 8 lock-off pullups.
3 sets of 12 mountian climbers
3 sets of 30 situps
3 sets of 30 bodyweight squats
Stretching to improve flexibility.
15-20 minutes of high intensity cardio with as few breaks as possible.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
About my first refeed on the keto diet.
Yuck, it's Monday.
Well, I've been pretty busy hammering out programming stuff all weekend. I have been more than a little worried about my energy levels on the "keto" diet I began on Saturday of last week. I tried doing a carb-up day beginning on Thursday night and including all of Friday. I ate a pizza over 2 meals on Thursday night and had 2 slices for breakfast on Friday morning.
The short-term differences were immediate and drastic. I felt sluggish and bloated, but at the same time stronger. At our early workout session (due to my flex time every second Friday) I set a personal best with a squat of 205lbs for 3 reps. This is 25lbs more than my previous personal best single rep squat (albiet, this was a month ago, and I hadn't tried to up it since). I also noticed that I drank much less water than I have been while in the "keto zone".
The carb-up is to replace muscle glycogen levels that have been severely depleted through a week of near-zero carbohydrate intake. You may also have heard this refered to as a "refeed". Basically I take a break from my no starchy or processed carbs diet for a 24 hour period of clean carbo-loading and passive recovery. The idea behind this is to allow my body to repair from toeing the overtraining line on my current 5 day high-intensity training schedule.
Well, sorry for the lack of science behind today's blog, but it is Monday, and I'm busy as heck between my day job, my consulting, my lovely girlfriend and the gym. Tune in tomorrow for new content!
Well, I've been pretty busy hammering out programming stuff all weekend. I have been more than a little worried about my energy levels on the "keto" diet I began on Saturday of last week. I tried doing a carb-up day beginning on Thursday night and including all of Friday. I ate a pizza over 2 meals on Thursday night and had 2 slices for breakfast on Friday morning.
The short-term differences were immediate and drastic. I felt sluggish and bloated, but at the same time stronger. At our early workout session (due to my flex time every second Friday) I set a personal best with a squat of 205lbs for 3 reps. This is 25lbs more than my previous personal best single rep squat (albiet, this was a month ago, and I hadn't tried to up it since). I also noticed that I drank much less water than I have been while in the "keto zone".
The carb-up is to replace muscle glycogen levels that have been severely depleted through a week of near-zero carbohydrate intake. You may also have heard this refered to as a "refeed". Basically I take a break from my no starchy or processed carbs diet for a 24 hour period of clean carbo-loading and passive recovery. The idea behind this is to allow my body to repair from toeing the overtraining line on my current 5 day high-intensity training schedule.
Well, sorry for the lack of science behind today's blog, but it is Monday, and I'm busy as heck between my day job, my consulting, my lovely girlfriend and the gym. Tune in tomorrow for new content!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Setting goals.
Over the last week, I asked each of my workout partners what their goals are in the gym, and I was simply shocked at the answers one said "to be in better shape" and the other said something along the lines of "so i feel better". My response to both was something along the lines of "how do you know when you get there?"
Personally, I set quantifiable goals. Even though I'm not much of a numbers person, I like to use them to measure stuff (which seems like an obvious use for them to me). My goals usually start with a qualitative bent, and often start off sounding like my December 1st goal of this year, to "be ripped for summer". Though this is a perfectly valid and realistic goal, it's tough to tell when I get there, so I will at that point try to reduce it to numbers. For instance, using the goal above, when I started this goal I was about 140lbs and 25-30% body fat, so I had to gain some muscle to show off, and lose the fat concealing it, so i broke down my goal into two parts, "get big" and "get lean".
These were two separate goals that had to be achieved to meet my main goal of being ripped for summer, but they are still not numbers. The next part of breaking down my goal was to assign numbers to these sub goals. I decided that I had 45 days (a month and a half) to get my weight up to 160 on a bulking diet/workout regimen high in protein, carbohydrates and intense workouts. I also know from previous fat-loss experience, that my six pack won't show until my body fat drops below 10% (around 6-8% i think). This gave me something to shoot for, numbers wise. By February 15th (when I purchased my scale), I was up to 165lbs through my bulking diet and regular weight lifting. I had surpassed my first sub goal, I knew this because the numbers told me so. It was time to begin the cutting phase.
My body fat levels had dropped a little bit, coming down into the 20% range, so i decided that by may-long I wanted to be able to see my six-pack. As I stated above, this is quantifiable as having under 10% body fat, so I began working on a limited calorie version of my bulking diet. I managed to get to under 15% in 4 weeks, but I began to see the predictable slowing of my progress as the reduced calorie /fat diet took it's toll on my mental stability and my metabolism. On march 1st, 2009 I began a ketogenic diet to try it out, and I saw my losses speeding up again (might still just be water weight loss at this point though).
This is how I set my goals. I find that having wantifiable goals helps me remmeber not to give up and helps me to stay motivated through slumps. I'm not sure how clear I was in describing my process, as I'm a tad foggy from the keto, but I hope it helps someone. Just remember to stay motivated and keep working toward your goals.
Personally, I set quantifiable goals. Even though I'm not much of a numbers person, I like to use them to measure stuff (which seems like an obvious use for them to me). My goals usually start with a qualitative bent, and often start off sounding like my December 1st goal of this year, to "be ripped for summer". Though this is a perfectly valid and realistic goal, it's tough to tell when I get there, so I will at that point try to reduce it to numbers. For instance, using the goal above, when I started this goal I was about 140lbs and 25-30% body fat, so I had to gain some muscle to show off, and lose the fat concealing it, so i broke down my goal into two parts, "get big" and "get lean".
These were two separate goals that had to be achieved to meet my main goal of being ripped for summer, but they are still not numbers. The next part of breaking down my goal was to assign numbers to these sub goals. I decided that I had 45 days (a month and a half) to get my weight up to 160 on a bulking diet/workout regimen high in protein, carbohydrates and intense workouts. I also know from previous fat-loss experience, that my six pack won't show until my body fat drops below 10% (around 6-8% i think). This gave me something to shoot for, numbers wise. By February 15th (when I purchased my scale), I was up to 165lbs through my bulking diet and regular weight lifting. I had surpassed my first sub goal, I knew this because the numbers told me so. It was time to begin the cutting phase.
My body fat levels had dropped a little bit, coming down into the 20% range, so i decided that by may-long I wanted to be able to see my six-pack. As I stated above, this is quantifiable as having under 10% body fat, so I began working on a limited calorie version of my bulking diet. I managed to get to under 15% in 4 weeks, but I began to see the predictable slowing of my progress as the reduced calorie /fat diet took it's toll on my mental stability and my metabolism. On march 1st, 2009 I began a ketogenic diet to try it out, and I saw my losses speeding up again (might still just be water weight loss at this point though).
This is how I set my goals. I find that having wantifiable goals helps me remmeber not to give up and helps me to stay motivated through slumps. I'm not sure how clear I was in describing my process, as I'm a tad foggy from the keto, but I hope it helps someone. Just remember to stay motivated and keep working toward your goals.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Terminator Workout 1
I'm pretty busy with the day job today, so I'm just going to post my new workout program and the theory behind it. My schedule is pretty busy, but I manage to handle my full time job, a part-time consulting schedule and still make time for my 3 day split on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, gymnastics on Tuesday and Thursday, and a cardio session 2-4 days a week, often at 6am before work.
As I'm changing my diet over to keto starting this week, I need to change my workout as well. My goal right now is getting ripped; strength and size are a secondary consideration.
I call this new set of workouts the terminator series. The basics of the theory here is to do high-intensity strength workouts with lots of compound lifts. It involves wiping out the machines from my workout schedule, everything is done with free weights. Every lift is explosive, every movement is done in 3 sets of 8 with as much weight as possible, drop sets and rack-runs are employed whenever failure is reached. The exceptions to the 3 sets of 8 are bodyweight exercises such as parallel bar dips and pull ups.
** The new workout plan **
** The new workout plan **
Since my schedule allows for Mon, Wed and Fri to be lifting days, every weight day includes my favorite basic strength builders:
Squats
Dead Lifts
Bench Press
On Monday, my lifting partners and I perform the 3 basic lifts, and add:
parallel bar dips (in 3 sets to failure)
military press
dumb bell incline press
barbell rows
On Wednesday, after the 3 basic lifts, we add:
SLDL
Standing calf raises
On Friday, after the 3 basic lifts, we add:
Squats
Dead Lifts
Bench Press
On Monday, my lifting partners and I perform the 3 basic lifts, and add:
parallel bar dips (in 3 sets to failure)
military press
dumb bell incline press
barbell rows
On Wednesday, after the 3 basic lifts, we add:
SLDL
Standing calf raises
On Friday, after the 3 basic lifts, we add:
pull-ups (in 3 sets to failure)
seated cable rows
alternating DB curls
seated cable rows
alternating DB curls
Friday, February 27, 2009
Keeping the fire stoked.
I am starting to realize how important an informed and scientific view of your personal body transformation process is. Even a few of the one size fits all "nutrition and diet experts" suggest that you tweak the diet program and theories that they present in the books and stuff that they keep trying to sell me. However, this is usually in teeny, tiny print at the very back of their book, bottom of their blog or is absent altogether from their product. In short, if someone had a long road ahead of them to reach their ideal physique, they may have lost inspiration, grabbed the Häagen-Dazs, and given up their program before they ever got to the finely printed points about experimentation and tweaking for personal balance.
Assuming that they think that every lard-butt knows to tweak the diet until they find the perfect macro-nutrient balance to meet their goals, why would they give us a starting point that doesn't work for the majority of overweight or under-fit people? My theory is that they want you to buy the sequel to their system, or book, or whatever magic beans or snake oil they've just sold you. This all being said, there is no magic bullet that's going to shred you up like a competition body builder in a few days of eating Doritos and swilling cases of beer while sitting on the couch.
You won't ever look like Jay Cutler or Ronnie Coleman if you hit the gym 3 times a week, cut back to one case of beer a week, and "only" eat at McDonalds 3 times a week instead of 6 unless you happen to be one of those lucky genetic freaks who defy all science and logic when it comes to building muscle and shedding fat. You can look like a bodybuilder or fitness model if you hit the gym 5-12 times each week, eat a ridiculously tough, perfectly rationed diet. To get abs like a brick wall, you may need to develop the willpower of a brick wall, but isn't it worth it?
To sum up what I'm trying to say, the toughest opponent in sports of physical transformation is inside you. The little voice that whispers "I'm too exhausted to hit the gym today" or tells you that it's alright to blow your diet for this holiday or that occasion. On the opposite end of the spectrum, I've seen quite a few aspiring bodybuilders become stick men when they turn their first cutting diet into an eating disorder because they have misconceptions about caloric floors or body fat percentages.
However; if you can get that little voice to keep you strongly motivated, and your knowledge keeps it from being over-obsessive and in effect ruinous, it is a great advantage. For example, as I was having my 11am meal in the office lunch room yesterday (a can of tuna, right form the can and an apple) my coworkers broke out a birthday cake. I watched them serve the cake, and passed on a piece, the little voice inside chanting my mantra (which you may remember from my entry on quitting smoking) "You're superman. You're stronger than that."
My Self-Combat Tip: Keep a journal or something.
Even with my superhuman willpower, I sometimes feel my motivation waning from time to time there are a few things I do to keep myself psyched about this long road to body transformation. I find that the internal conflict can be detrimental and slow down my fitness goals. Fighting yourself is no fun, so to avoid all out war, I suggest finding a few things like this that work for you.
Assuming that they think that every lard-butt knows to tweak the diet until they find the perfect macro-nutrient balance to meet their goals, why would they give us a starting point that doesn't work for the majority of overweight or under-fit people? My theory is that they want you to buy the sequel to their system, or book, or whatever magic beans or snake oil they've just sold you. This all being said, there is no magic bullet that's going to shred you up like a competition body builder in a few days of eating Doritos and swilling cases of beer while sitting on the couch.
You won't ever look like Jay Cutler or Ronnie Coleman if you hit the gym 3 times a week, cut back to one case of beer a week, and "only" eat at McDonalds 3 times a week instead of 6 unless you happen to be one of those lucky genetic freaks who defy all science and logic when it comes to building muscle and shedding fat. You can look like a bodybuilder or fitness model if you hit the gym 5-12 times each week, eat a ridiculously tough, perfectly rationed diet. To get abs like a brick wall, you may need to develop the willpower of a brick wall, but isn't it worth it?
To sum up what I'm trying to say, the toughest opponent in sports of physical transformation is inside you. The little voice that whispers "I'm too exhausted to hit the gym today" or tells you that it's alright to blow your diet for this holiday or that occasion. On the opposite end of the spectrum, I've seen quite a few aspiring bodybuilders become stick men when they turn their first cutting diet into an eating disorder because they have misconceptions about caloric floors or body fat percentages.
However; if you can get that little voice to keep you strongly motivated, and your knowledge keeps it from being over-obsessive and in effect ruinous, it is a great advantage. For example, as I was having my 11am meal in the office lunch room yesterday (a can of tuna, right form the can and an apple) my coworkers broke out a birthday cake. I watched them serve the cake, and passed on a piece, the little voice inside chanting my mantra (which you may remember from my entry on quitting smoking) "You're superman. You're stronger than that."
My Self-Combat Tip: Keep a journal or something.
Even with my superhuman willpower, I sometimes feel my motivation waning from time to time there are a few things I do to keep myself psyched about this long road to body transformation. I find that the internal conflict can be detrimental and slow down my fitness goals. Fighting yourself is no fun, so to avoid all out war, I suggest finding a few things like this that work for you.
- I keep this blog to help me organize my daily fitness research, and to help me remember why my diet and workout plan are the way they are. This keeps me from yo-yo dieting or changing up my workout routine more often than I should.
- I also take photos of my progress several times per week so that I can do the "time machine" effect when I start to become obsessive and worry that my gains/losses are not what I am striving for.
- I keep a bodyspace over at one of my favorite sites. This lets me track many aspects of my progress, so that I can watch consistent change occur.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
My cutting diet
I'm 3 weeks into my first dedicated and complete cut, and I'd like to know where I can cut back. I want to see the brick wall abs that I can feel through the inch thick layer of belly fat now. For three weeks on this diet, my weight has been consistently dropping, and I've been putting alot of effort into keeping my caloric intake low while not starving myself. My typical week has me eating relatively clean, and I am off alcohol, processed grains, dairy, and deep fried foods, with the exception of a once a week dinner date with my lady until I reach my goal.
My workout schedule is basically I lift weights on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, do 2 hrs of gymnastics on Tuesday and Thursday, and go for a 1/2 to 1 hr trail jog (yes, in the snow) when i wake up on Saturday and Sunday.
Daily vits and supps:
Hydroxycut hardcore two on wake up, 2 at lunch or before 5:30pm workout on lift days, I'm not pushing this yet, as I'm not convinced that it's effects aren't the result of placebo.
1 multi vitamin,
1000mg vitamin C on wakeup and another 1000 before bed
500mg Glucosamine sulfate 2x on wakeup and x2 before bed
vitamin D - 1 dose
1 dose ginkgo biloba (for mental clarity)
I drink between 3 and 6 liters of water throughout the day.
Lift Days (MWF)
7:30 - 1 cup liquid egg white, scrambled with 1tsp of cyanne and 1/2 tsp of sea salt, 1cup canned pineapple(or an apple)
8:15am 1 or 2 cups of coffee, 1tsp of sugar, 1tsp non-dairy whitener
11am - can of tuna and an apple,
1pm - lunch of around 300-500 cals, usually carbs and protein
3pm - can of tuna and an avocado
(workout at 5:30-6:30)
6:30pm - isolate shake (approx 35g protein) between the weights and the steam room
7:30pm - dinner 300-500 cals of carbs and protein, (eg 120g chicken breast and 1/2 cup brown rice, 1/2 cup steamed or fresh asparagus or broccoli or both!).
Gymnastics Days (tues, thurs)
7:30 - 1/3 cup plain fat free yogurt, 1/2 cup basic muslix
8:15am 1 or 2 cups of coffee, 1tsp of sugar, 1tsp non-dairy whitener
11am - can of tuna
1pm -apple, avocado, 1/2 cup brown rice
3pm - can of tuna
7:30pm - dinner 300-500 cals of carbs and protein, eg 120g chicken breast and 1/2 cup brown rice, 1/2 cup steamed or fresh asparagus or broccoli (or both!).
(gymnastics from 8pm to 10pm)
10:15pm - isolate shake (approx 35g protein)
Off days(sat sun, I don't really do my counting on the weekends, but i don't eat garbage)
(wakeup between 7 and 10 so my diet is just staggered after that)
Breakfast: 1/3 cup plain fat free yogurt, 1/2 cup basic muslix, 1 or 2 cups of coffee, 1tsp of sugar, 1tsp non-dairy whitener
Post Breakfast: - apple and isolate
lunch - 1/2 cup brown rice and 150g lean ground beef, 1/2 bell pepper with 1/2 tsp of dehydrated garlic, 1 tsp of soy sauce and 1 tsp of franks red hot sauce
post lunch - (leftovers from the above because i can never eat it all)
dinner - cheat meal out with the girlfriend, which is usually a "double" chicken salad of some type, such as a double-breasted chicken caesar. Also, we sometimes do sushi or sashimi for this cheat meal.
My workout schedule is basically I lift weights on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, do 2 hrs of gymnastics on Tuesday and Thursday, and go for a 1/2 to 1 hr trail jog (yes, in the snow) when i wake up on Saturday and Sunday.
Daily vits and supps:
Hydroxycut hardcore two on wake up, 2 at lunch or before 5:30pm workout on lift days, I'm not pushing this yet, as I'm not convinced that it's effects aren't the result of placebo.
1 multi vitamin,
1000mg vitamin C on wakeup and another 1000 before bed
500mg Glucosamine sulfate 2x on wakeup and x2 before bed
vitamin D - 1 dose
1 dose ginkgo biloba (for mental clarity)
I drink between 3 and 6 liters of water throughout the day.
Lift Days (MWF)
7:30 - 1 cup liquid egg white, scrambled with 1tsp of cyanne and 1/2 tsp of sea salt, 1cup canned pineapple(or an apple)
8:15am 1 or 2 cups of coffee, 1tsp of sugar, 1tsp non-dairy whitener
11am - can of tuna and an apple,
1pm - lunch of around 300-500 cals, usually carbs and protein
3pm - can of tuna and an avocado
(workout at 5:30-6:30)
6:30pm - isolate shake (approx 35g protein) between the weights and the steam room
7:30pm - dinner 300-500 cals of carbs and protein, (eg 120g chicken breast and 1/2 cup brown rice, 1/2 cup steamed or fresh asparagus or broccoli or both!).
Gymnastics Days (tues, thurs)
7:30 - 1/3 cup plain fat free yogurt, 1/2 cup basic muslix
8:15am 1 or 2 cups of coffee, 1tsp of sugar, 1tsp non-dairy whitener
11am - can of tuna
1pm -apple, avocado, 1/2 cup brown rice
3pm - can of tuna
7:30pm - dinner 300-500 cals of carbs and protein, eg 120g chicken breast and 1/2 cup brown rice, 1/2 cup steamed or fresh asparagus or broccoli (or both!).
(gymnastics from 8pm to 10pm)
10:15pm - isolate shake (approx 35g protein)
Off days(sat sun, I don't really do my counting on the weekends, but i don't eat garbage)
(wakeup between 7 and 10 so my diet is just staggered after that)
Breakfast: 1/3 cup plain fat free yogurt, 1/2 cup basic muslix, 1 or 2 cups of coffee, 1tsp of sugar, 1tsp non-dairy whitener
Post Breakfast: - apple and isolate
lunch - 1/2 cup brown rice and 150g lean ground beef, 1/2 bell pepper with 1/2 tsp of dehydrated garlic, 1 tsp of soy sauce and 1 tsp of franks red hot sauce
post lunch - (leftovers from the above because i can never eat it all)
dinner - cheat meal out with the girlfriend, which is usually a "double" chicken salad of some type, such as a double-breasted chicken caesar. Also, we sometimes do sushi or sashimi for this cheat meal.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
An example of my diet log.
Well here's a week I'm not particularly proud of in my diet log, as you can see I was probably putting myself into starvation mode by only eating half my BMR calories on heavy activity days.
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