Getting fit in Morocco - Page 2 - JP Fitness Forums

stingo · 02-16-2008, 04:24 PM

How do you like the Kindle - I've seen it online of course, but have not used one.

allenkt · 02-16-2008, 04:42 PM

I love my Kindle! It's the best thing since sliced bread and if you like to read I can't recommend it enough. Especially now that I'm in Morocco it is so nice because if I want to read a book, most of the time it is available in Kindle format (over 100,000 titles so far), it's less than $10 and I can start reading immediately. Whereas if I were to have a book shipped to me the shipping would be terrible and it would take a couple of weeks. And I don't have to carry around a bunch of books, I have one device that holds all my books. I also get the Wall Street Journal so it's nice to be able to curl up on the couch and read the WSJ to keep up with the news from back in the States. But if you like to read, get a Kindle. It's worth every penny and then some.

Cynic · 02-16-2008, 08:29 PM

There are some valid complaints against the kindle, but I'm really intrigued by it.

One complaint is that that books are DRM'd, so in 10 years or so, if you wanted to read one over again, you won't be able to because the license expired. Also, that the kindle only reads it's own proprietary format, making it useful only for reading books (can't read pdfs), and for $400, I'd want it to be a bit more versatile.

allenkt · 02-18-2008, 01:51 PM

Today was a fun day at the gym. The following lifts, all with 45 seconds of rest between sets. Still need to work on my rest period between supersets though. Rested for 90 seconds between the first two supersets but then ended up resting almost 5 minutes between the pulldowns and the Romanian deadlifts

Deadlift 3 x 10 @ 165
DB incline bench press 3 x 10 @ 110

Bulgarian split squat 3 x 10 @ 70
Mixed grip lat pulldown 3 x 10 @ 9 (probably 90lbs)

Romanian deadlift 3 x 10 @ 145
Swiss-ball lateral roll 3 x 10

I'm also just finishing up reading Barry Sears' The Zone because I want some ideas and recipes that I can use over here. So to get my protein requirement and figure out my lean muscle mass I needed to know how much I weigh. I asked the guy at the gym if they had a scale which was interesting. I don't know the Arabic word for scale and charades wasn't working so I finally ended up asking, "how many kilograms me?" and then pretended I was stepping on a scale. But as it turns out they don't have a scale at the gym. So I ended up using the assisted dip machine (it kind of looks like a teeter-totter with weights on one end). I'm not positive where the fulcrum is on this thing but I hope it's in the center. I took off all the weight and made sure it would balance with no weight. Then I added what I thought I would weigh and sat on the machine. After a little trial and error I determined that according to the dip machine I weigh about 168 lbs. Don't know if that is 100% correct but hopefully it's close.

allenkt · 02-18-2008, 01:59 PM

Just saw your post about the Kindle Cynic. Those are valid points but not 100% correct. Yes, the books are DRM'd which can be bad (at least according to Cory Doctorow) however Amazon does not require authors to DRM material. They allow anyone to write and upload a book and charge whatever they (the author) feels is appropriate. Amazon then only keeps 35% of that fee and gives the rest to the author. A very good deal by today's publisher standards.

As for the other formats, you can have Amazon convert Word or text documents and also PDF's. The only thing about PDF's is that not all of them work. Some PDF files are really just images instead of text. Those don't convert, but all other ones do. In fact, I had Atlas Shrugged in PDF format and converted it so I could read it on my Kindle. As far as getting those documents onto your Kindle there are two ways to do it. You can email it to Amazon and have it sent to your Kindle through the Whispernet (CDMA wireless) for $0.10 per document. Alternatively you can email it to your Kindle address then Amazon will convert it and email it back to the email address you registered with when you bought the Kindle. Then you just save the document and transfer it to your Kindle via the USB port. That method is 100% free.

Cynic · 02-23-2008, 12:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by allenkt

As for the other formats, you can have Amazon convert Word or text documents and also PDF's. The only thing about PDF's is that not all of them work. Some PDF files are really just images instead of text. Those don't convert, but all other ones do. In fact, I had Atlas Shrugged in PDF format and converted it so I could read it on my Kindle. As far as getting those documents onto your Kindle there are two ways to do it. You can email it to Amazon and have it sent to your Kindle through the Whispernet (CDMA wireless) for $0.10 per document. Alternatively you can email it to your Kindle address then Amazon will convert it and email it back to the email address you registered with when you bought the Kindle. Then you just save the document and transfer it to your Kindle via the USB port. That method is 100% free.

The problem I foresee: if it's work related material under an NDA. Then you're kinda fuched. If the Kindle can't read PDFs natively and the conversion process is kept in Amazon's total control, the Kindle is again unuseful.

However, I'm still intrigued as I don't read a lot of work related PDFs.

allenkt · 02-27-2008, 04:19 PM

This is my workout from 20 Feb:

Squat 3 x 10 @ 165
Cable seated row 3 x 10 @ 100

Supine hip extension 3 x 10
DB push-press 3 x 10 @ 100 (50lbs each hand)

Rotational lunge 3 x 10 @ 90
Swiss-ball crunch 3 x 20

This was a pretty hard workout but I felt really good about it.

allenkt · 02-27-2008, 04:36 PM

I started Fat-Loss II today. Wow. And just for good measure, OMFG this was a workout!

But first, an explanation. I should have had one more workout for FL-I but I couldn't get it in. I worked out last Wednesday and thought maybe I could go in early Thursday morning but I didn't have time. And then that afternoon at noon I left for a 4 day trip to Spain (pictures linked from my blog). So since I am supposed to take a week off between FL-1 and 2, I decided to just skip the last one instead of coming back after 5 days, workout 1 day and then take another week off. I will actually miss almost another week next week because I'm going to Budapest for a few days but I'll just stop and continue where I left off.

But back to today's workout. It was much harder than I thought it would be. I was a little disappointed in the weights because they were lower than I thought they should have been. For instance, last week I did 3 sets of 10 of back squats at 165 lbs. But today on front squats I could only do 115. I expected to reduce the weight but not by that much. And then I did DB push-presses last week at 50lbs each hand for a total of 100lbs (granted they were very hard but I did them). But today on BB push-presses I only did 85lbs and it was sooo hard. And I'm completely wiped out tonight....but I don't mind

Here is today's workout with 60 seconds rest between exercises and about 90 seconds rest between supersets.

Front squat 3 x 12 @ 115
Wide-grip cable seated row 3 x 12 @ 100

Supine hip extension with leg curl 3 x 12 (this was harder than I thought)
Barbell push press 3 x 12 @ 85

Dynamic lunge 3 x 12 @ 85, 95, 95
Upper body Russian twist 3 x 12

So like I said, this really wiped me out. At the end of the second set up BB push-presses I was breathing the same way as I do after I finish running 2 miles. Stay tuned because workout B (which I will do on Friday) looks pretty tough!

allenkt · 02-29-2008, 06:37 PM

So today was the first day of workout B for FL-II and all I could think of was, "Alwyn, why do you hate me so?" But seriously this was an intense workout! I had to increase my rest periods between supersets to almost 3 minutes and I also found myself having to rest briefly before switching legs on the Bulgarian split squat/OH press. Here was my workout:

Snatch-grip deadlift 3 x 12 @ 165 (this was quite difficult)
T-push-up 3 x 12 @ 15, 10, 10

Bulgarian split squat w/overhead press 3 x 12 @ 30, 20, 20 (10lbs each hand)
Underhand-grip lat pulldown 3 x 12 @ 80

Romanian deadlift/bent-over row 3 x 12 @ 95, 85, 85
Lower body Russian twist 3 x 12

The deadlift really wore me out so I had to switch to 10lb DB's for the t-push-ups. And even that was hard

Then the split squats/OH presses......OMG, whose idea was that?? I'll admit it was relatively easy on my legs but my shoulders felt like they were on fire. And I started out with 20lb DB's thinking it would be easy and quickly realized there was no way I could do 24 reps with that weight. So I switched to 15lb DB's and then went down to 10lbs for the last 2 sets. I'll try and keep it at 15lbs next week though because 10lbs was almost too light. 12lbs would have been ideal I think. But I couldn't leave my arms at my sides after that exercise because they were too sore. So I just kind of rested them on the chin-up bar and tried like crazy to catch my breath. I really thought I could do more weight though so we'll see how it goes next Wednesday.

But all-in-all it was a heck of a workout. I had sweat dripping off my forehead into my eyes and think my pulse stayed high almost the whole time. This is going to be a fun 4 weeks....

allenkt · 03-03-2008, 03:25 PM

Another hard, but good, workout. The two hardest exercises today were the front squats and the barbell push-presses. I really had to give it everything I had for those but hopefully that is what pays dividends in the long run

Front squat 3 x 12 @ 125
Wide-grip cable seated row 3 x 12 @ 110

Supine hip extension w/leg curl 3 x 12
Barbell push-press 3 x 12 @ 85

Dynamic lunge 3 x 12 @ 95
Upper-body Russian twist 3 x 12

I think I should have added more weight to my lunges as they weren't as hard as last week but I kept expecting them to get harder on the next set. They were still hard but I could have done more. Next time....

Lost Dog · 03-03-2008, 03:33 PM

How's the food? Have you adapted to the local stuff, or are you just finding ways to get stuff you're used to?

allenkt · 03-03-2008, 03:39 PM

The food is pretty decent but it's pretty similar to what I'm used to eating at home. The main difference is that it is all prepared by hand instead of out of a box. I eat Turkey pretty much every day because it's cheap then I just throw in some vegetables and sometimes fruit. The problem with the "native" food is that it doesn't necessarily fit what I'm trying to do. The staples of Moroccan food seem to be bread and sugar. And of course everyone eats couscous, especially on Fridays, but that is just pure carbs so I tend to stay away from it. So I just go to the Market (similar to a large farmer's market) every 3 days or so and get whatever meat, veggies and fruit that I need. Then I just mix stuff together and call it a meal

allenkt · 03-25-2008, 06:43 PM

Well I've been very lax in maintaining this log over the last few weeks but it has been pretty hectic with a lot of traveling (Hungary, Germany and southern Morocco). But the good news is I have been continuing my lifting. Had to take a few extra days off here and there but nothing major that seemed to affect me adversely at all. So here is everything from 5 March until recently:

5 March: - 60 second rest periods

Snatch-grip deadlift 3 x 12 @165
T push-up 3 x 12 @ 10 lbs (each hand)

Bulgarian split-squat w/OH press 3 x 12 @30 lbs (15 each hand)
Underhand grip lat pulldown 3 x 12 @ 90

Romanian deadlift with bent-over row 3 x 12 @ 90, 85, 85 (poor form)
Lower body Russian twist 3 x 12

Those split-squats w/OH press are amazingly hard! Also had to reduce the weight on the Romanian DL/BO row because I found myself cheating and having bad form.

12 March - took about a week off because I was in Budapest, Hungary for an extended weekend vacation

- 45 second rest periods

Front squat 3 x 10 @ 135
Wide-grip cable row 3 x 10 @ 110

Supine hip extension w/leg curl 3 x 10
Barbell push press 3 x 10 @ 95 (love these but they are hard)

Dynamic lunge 3 x 10 @ 105
Upper body Russian twist 3 x 10

14 March - 45 second rest periods

Snatch-grip deadlift 3 x 10 @175
T push-up 3 x 10 @ 15 lbs (each hand)

Bulgarian split-squat w/OH press 3 x 10 @40 lbs (20 each hand)
Underhand grip lat pulldown 3 x 10 @ 90

Romanian deadlift with bent-over row 3 x 10 @ 85(better form)
Lower body Russian twist 3 x 10

17 March - 45 second rest periods

Front squat 3 x 10 @ 140
Wide-grip cable row 3 x 10 @ 110

Supine hip extension w/leg curl 3 x 10
Barbell push press 3 x 10 @ 100 (muscle failure on last rep of last set)

Dynamic lunge 3 x 10 @ 110
Upper body Russian twist 3 x 10

I think I might be cheating somewhat on the cable rows. Trying to improve form.

19 March - 45 second rest periods

Snatch-grip deadlift 3 x 10 @ 180
T push-up 3 x 10 @ 15 lbs (each hand)

Bulgarian split-squat w/OH press 3 x 10 @ 40 lbs (20 each hand)
Underhand grip lat pulldown 3 x 10 @ 92.5

Romanian deadlift with bent-over row 3 x 10 @ 90
Lower body Russian twist 3 x 10

The Bulgarian split squats really wore me out today. On my last set I ended up taking a 60 second rest between the left and right leg because I was so exhausted.

allenkt · 03-25-2008, 06:49 PM

Had a 4 day break (Thu - Sun) from school so went to southern Morocco for the weekend and pushed my Friday workout to today (Monday).

Now I move to the final sets and doing 3 sets of 8 with 30 second rest periods. In addition, I have decided to work out 4 days/week lifting on Mon, Tue, Thurs and Friday. We'll see how that goes.

Here is the workout from yesterday, 24 March:

Front squat 3 x 8 @ 150
Wide-grip cable row 3 x 8 @ 120

Supine hip extension w/leg curl 3 x 8
Barbell push press 3 x 8 @ 105 (quite hard!)

Dynamic lunge 3 x 8 @ 115
Upper body Russian twist 3 x 8

Overall I felt pretty good about this workout. Front squats are coming along nicely and the barbell push presses are so hard yet very fun.

allenkt · 03-25-2008, 06:53 PM

And now for today's workout. I wasn't sure how it was going to go because this is the first week that I'm moving to 4/week. Up until now I've always had at least one day of rest between workouts.

Snatch-grip deadlift 3 x 8 @ 185
T push-up 3 x 8 @ 15, 20, 20

Bulgarian split-squat w/OH press 3 x 8 @ 50 lbs (25 each hand)
Underhand grip lat pulldown 3 x 8 @ 100

Romanian deadlift with bent-over row 3 x 8 @ 95
Lower body Russian twist 3 x 8

I hit muscle failure on the last rep of the last set on the split squats. My left arm just couldn't get the weight all the up on that last rep. But if I only fail on the last rep of the last set I think that is still pretty good

Was pretty tired after this but felt good. We'll see how sore I am tomorrow though

allenkt · 04-19-2008, 06:39 PM

Ok, time for an update. I finished FL II doing workouts on 27 and 31 March but I can't find my sheet right now so I can't update what I lifted.

My original plan was to continue to lift one more week then take off 1 week (due to a vacation in Sweden) before starting Hypertrophy I. But that plan didn't work. I went to the Sahara the weekend after the 31st and I think I got food poisoning or something when I got back because I was sick for that entire week and couldn't keep any food in me. I didn't think it would be wise to continue lifting in that state so I just stayed home. Then the following week I was in Sweden for about 10 days. And that leads me to my next post, starting Hypertrophy I!