My NROL Experience

[tcoy777]

Nice job on the weight loss. See it could have been water weight.

Is funny as this is, I think rice is one of the harder things to get right. For each new brand of rice, it takes me a few times to figure out exactly how long it wants to be cooked and how. I usually put in a tad of Olive Oil in the pot and brown the rice up a bit first. It adds a even more nuttier flavor.

[stingo]

Originally Posted by tcoy777

Nice job on the weight loss. See it could have been water weight.

Is funny as this is, I think rice is one of the harder things to get right. For each new brand of rice, it takes me a few times to figure out exactly how long it wants to be cooked and how. I usually put in a tad of Olive Oil in the pot and brown the rice up a bit first. It adds a even more nuttier flavor.

Yeah, that's the one thing I forgot to do when cooking the rice - adding a little oil so as to further prevent sticking. As it is though, this was the best attempt yet. It even cooked up noticeably differently in that there weren't nearly as many bubbles as the unrinsed/unsoaked rice.

[kfisherx]

Ah hah! That seems to happen to me too. I get a surge up for a day and then it drops to an all time low the following days. Weird about that huh? This is why daily measuring is probably not the best thing. Good job on the inching downward! And I love to OLY lift too. I don't get to do it much but sometimes we do. One day I am going to visit the OLY gym in town.

[missjane]

Good job on the weight loss, Tom!! Keep on rockin!

[stingo]

All weights in pounds.

A Turkish Getup 2x5@20 (each side)

B One-Arm Swings 2x10@50 (each side)

C Core Push Press + Goblet Squats 3x10@45

D Assisted Pull-up 3x10@-145

E1 Front Squat + High Pull 3x12@50 (each side)
E2 Front Squat + Lateral Raise 3x12@20 (each side)

F1 Pushups 3x11@BW (each side)
F2 Row 3x10@50 (each side)

A Turkish Getup - Technique is getting better but not where it should be yet.

B One-Arm Swings - Put up the 50 here... This means I can justify the purchase of a 24kg kettlebell. Yay!

C Core Push Press + Goblet Squats - Pretty astonished here that I made it through the entire set with the 45.

D Assisted Pull-up - For whatever reason I was ready for this exercise. Surprised that I was able to knock out 3 whole sets at a new weight.

E1 Front Squat + High Pull - 50 here too - did I hear a 24kg kettlebell?

E2 Front Squat + Lateral Raise - I think this was the hardest exercise, and while admittedly form suffered a little, I did manage to put in all three sets at 20.

F1 Push-ups - Started the addition today. Although the listing says I added 1 pushup, considering I actually do 6 sets of 11 (instead of 10) that's 6 more pushups total.

F2 Rows - 50! Cool stuff here.

Overall - Not sure how to explain it - but I did carb load last night, having the last of the aloo rajma with brown basmati rice. Also too the last time I did this workout was last week (Tuesday). Still, I'm ecstatic about my performance. (And looking at getting that new kettlebell... )

[stingo]

Originally Posted by kfisherx

Ah hah! That seems to happen to me too. I get a surge up for a day and then it drops to an all time low the following days. Weird about that huh? This is why daily measuring is probably not the best thing. Good job on the inching downward! And I love to OLY lift too. I don't get to do it much but sometimes we do. One day I am going to visit the OLY gym in town.

Heh yeah I was really pissed on Friday because I know I was good the day before, and still got dinged with a weight gain. I think for me, daily weighing IS best because it (barring this particular example) usually connects my weight to my eating habits. It's a good reminder also to keep an eye on the trend, which I have been, and the 5 day rolling average hasn't changed by more than a pound in a while.

As for Oly lifting, yeah it's fun - I'm going to learn the snatch next time I go to the Y, probably in a couple of weeks.

Originally Posted by missjane

Good job on the weight loss, Tom!! Keep on rockin!

Thanks Jane - you're doing very well yourself.

[Espi]

Congrats on your new low as well as your PRs! Seems like the rice worked very well in giving you more energy!

I'm going to try my first planned hyooge refeed ever .. have done same amt of carbs before but those were always sloppy accidental refeeds w a ton of fats.
So, I perked my ears when you wrote about how to cook rice as rice is going to be a big part of it.. just white basmati rice. And most likely I'll just cook them in our rice cooker. My SO has some Indonesian genes and a rice cooker is in Asia like what a water kettle is to the British: indispensible.
Since he abandoned bread (also somewhat gluten-intolerant) he's been taking boiled rice to his work and as a morning person prepares the rice right before leaving for work.
I can't even fathom why people cook up rice several days before as I got sick one day from eating too old/dry rice. It has to be really really moist & tender! Perhaps not the most yummy way , but certainly the safest way.

Back to your workout.. I'm firmly believing that the best way to add carbs is
1 during a workout when you want to keep them very low over-all
2 the night before a workout and NOT afterwards..

[Chloe2]

[quote=stingo;599720]All weights in pounds.

A Turkish Getup 2x5@20 (each side)

A Turkish Getup - Technique is getting better but not where it should be yet.

Hey Tom, I just learned how to do these the last week I had my trainer. Very strange but apparently very effective. Who thinks up these exercises???

B One-Arm Swings - Put up the 50 here... This means I can justify the purchase of a 24kg kettlebell. Yay!

Where are you going to buy your kettlebell. I need to buy 2 (18lb and 25lb) before I get to my kb rotation.

Also, I want to thank you for taking the time to read and respond in my log. I really appreciate your input.

[stingo]

Originally Posted by Espi

Congrats on your new low as well as your PRs! Seems like the rice worked very well in giving you more energy!

Back to your workout.. I'm firmly believing that the best way to add carbs is
1 during a workout when you want to keep them very low over-all
2 the night before a workout and NOT afterwards..

Thanks - it's been a banner day in the body department. Heh and here I thought the rice stuff was just a throwaway post lol - glad you got some use out of it.

I asked the woman who runs the corporate gym I work out at that specific question - when to carb load in preparation for a workout, and she said at dinner the night before. You have to remember that the aloo rajma also has potatoes and red beans, so the it was a pretty whopping dose of carbs lol. Not a lot of calories though.

Originally Posted by Chloe2

Hey Tom, I just learned how to do these the last week I had my trainer. Very strange but apparently very effective. Who thinks up these exercises???

Eastern Europeans and other nations nearby - makes me suspect their TVs are broken or something.

Originally Posted by Chloe2

Where are you going to buy your kettlebell. I need to buy 2 (18lb and 25lb) before I get to my kb rotation.

Also, I want to thank you for taking the time to read and respond in my log. I really appreciate your input.

I've been getting mine at muscledriver usa - they currently have their kb's at 25% off. I've been getting the Grey series V2 as they're a bit rougher than the black ones. (I find that sometimes I need to hold the kb by the bell, and with sweaty hands, the Greys have a little more traction than a totally smooth black one.) I like the ones I have - they look good and have the removable rubber feet on them so if you're using 'em on concrete (like I do) it's a more aesthetic experience. I'd also suggest looking into purchasing Steve Cotter's Encyclopedia of Kettlebell Lifting (Vol. 1) - tons of exercises with clear, easy instructions, as well as a lot of kettlebell workouts. I love doing one of his workouts as something different/new to add to my routine. It's 7 DVDs worth of instruction, at a cost of $99. At some point I'll get Vol. 2, but not for a very long time yet, as there's so much in Vol. 1.

As for the log response, that's why we're all here, isn't it?

[stingo]

Had two people ask me today if I lost more weight. The first was a friend at work that I see daily or nearly so. We happened to ride up in the elevator together and she asked me if I'd lost weight this weekend. lol I said, why yes - since the scale was indeed down from Friday's measurement, but I didn't think enough to make a noticeable difference.

The second time was at book club this evening. I'd missed the last meeting since I was away in NYC for my cousin's wedding. Again - got asked if I was losing weight again - and I said I was trying. Response was that I was looking good and to keep up the good work. I said something along the lines of well, now I have to order the steamed chicken and broccoli to keep up with my image lol. Which I actually did. Another member of the club brought in blueberry zucchini bread. I normally abstain from any sort of dessert, but 1) it was homemade, so I give that special consideration, and 2) I love me some zucchini bread. So I had a thin slice and it was very good indeed. I figure a small cheat like that was worth it, plus it made the person who brought it feel good that I had some. So a win-win all around.

To celebrate, I ordered a 24kg and a 28kg kettlebell from muscledriver. Depending on if they get the 32s in stock again before the sale's over I might spring for one of them too.

[tcoy777]

Great job on the increased weights. Sounds like you had a great workout. What book is being discussed these days?

[stingo]

Originally Posted by tcoy777

Great job on the increased weights. Sounds like you had a great workout. What book is being discussed these days?

My selection - Who's Afraid of Classical Music? by Michael Walsh. I'll be providing samples from my CD library to augment the book. Basically an excuse to talk about something I really enjoy.

[stingo]

218.25 - And speaking of talking about things I really enjoy, it's nice to see the lower number on the scale. I'd've liked to have put the slider on 218, but it was just out of reach. Still, a good showing considering I ate out last night, and had that small slice of zucchini bread. I should also mention my 5-day rolling average, as of today, went under 220 for the first time (219.75).

[tcoy777]

Originally Posted by stingo

My selection - Who's Afraid of Classical Music? by Michael Walsh. I'll be providing samples from my CD library to augment the book. Basically an excuse to talk about something I really enjoy.

Very cool. I need to get back at my reading of the composers. I have been in fiction land of late.

[stingo]

Originally Posted by tcoy777

Very cool. I need to get back at my reading of the composers. I have been in fiction land of late.

And I need to update my classical library thread. Just haven't had time to sit and listen to music since I've been trying to learn how to play it. Bach's Two-part Invention No. 8 (F major) is coming along pretty well as a result. Almost to the end of page 2 of 3.