The Challenge Begins.....It's Too Late Now!

[rem1956]

Hi Tom. My workout plan is basically a simple one of upper body compounds, 4 basic moves, and lower body compounds, alternating upper, lower, then cardio HIIT and repeat again. I allow myself 1 day off each week, but I don't change the routine order.

I will be changing my workout in about another 2 weeks. I plan to stick with each workout for a 6 week period, then change so my body doesn't adapt.

Each workout starts with 5 minutes on a cardio bike, followed by stretches as my warmup. I then move into my routine, then follow with some stretches again at the end. Some days, stretches feel soooo good!

For about the last year or so, I have been studying for my NSCA CPT exam; in my "spare" time. I've developed a good knowledge base of exercise science, anatomy and nutrition. This challenge has finally gotten me to using some of this information for my own benefit, instead of just reading and studying the book. I am actually applying things that I have learned, on myself. Makes workouts alot more fun. I am kinda like one big experiment in progress.

The problem with my gym is, early in the morning when I go to work out, the weight area is dominated by a local HS gang. Some of them are serious lifters, some of them are serious bull shi**ers who just hang out. There are always 6-9 of them, so trying to do a serious lifting routine in that area is often quite difficult. That's going to change soon with the purchase of a lifting rack for my basement, but that's another story in itself.

I just bought a ball! (funny you should mention that!). I'm planning to move my core exercises to a separate time, at home since I now have the equipment. I am slowly transitioning away from the gym to my basement, but it's a costly and slow process. This change will occur when I change my routine, in the very near future.

Thanks for asking and suggesting. I've done bulgarian squats.... they are a killer! As for bench presses, that's a move that I just plain and simple LIKE! I enjoy seeing the weight move off me. I just read The Steve's advice to someone in another thread regarding improving his chest with the bench press. The Steve has some great tips that I printed out and plan to try.

Gotta run for now. Serious government busy waiting!

[rem1956]

Depression pretty bad today. Didn't make it to the gym. Feeling really down. Seems likme when you're down, they just keep kicking.

[rem1956]

Well, as many of you know, it was a very bad weekend for me. I didn't make it to the gym 3 days in a row, felt like s*it, was extremely (dangerously) depressed due to many circumstances. But today is a brand new day and we are back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Fasting glucose was 103 this morning. Awesome, considering the weekend and the effect hormones and mood has on blood chemistry.

Went to the gym this morning and worked lower body. I had one of those noodle workouts....you know....when you get done working out, you think you left your legs somewhere else and you have noodles to walk on. Strange, but kinda a good feeling.

Anyways, went 5 minutes on carbio bike, stretches as usual, then:

Squats: 3 sets of 10 x 200 lbs
Deads: 3 sets of 10 x 120 lbs
Hip Extension: 3 sets of 10 x 140 lbs, each leg
Calf Press; 3 sets of 10 x 140 lbs
Seated Ab Crunch (Machine): 3 sets of 10 x 75 lbs

Really hard workout that left me feeling limp and barely able to hit the shower.

Followed this by 5 more minutes on the cardio bike at a lower intensity and a few more minutes of stretches. Man I am beat for the day. If my wife showed up now in a little red teddy I would have to say.....ahh....well....OH HELL... GO FOR IT RAY!!!!!

[stingo]

Glad to see you're back at it - maybe some light weekend activity would help?

[rem1956]

Hi Tom...light weekend activity would really help...and in hindsight that is exactly what I should have done, instead of what I actually did....sitting around feeling sorry for myself.

For years I have suffered from 'low grade depression", for lack of the correct term which I can't spell right now. I usually keep the beast tamed by taking good care of myself, proper diet/rest/exercise, hobbies, positive self talk, etc. But this last weekend I suffered several low blows and sucker punches. Took it's toll on me.

Anyways, it will NOT happen again. I do not like that feeling.

Oh....I forgot to mention in my above posting....weight was 217 this morning, down from 224 when i started. I'm looking forward to a body comp within the next few days. I know my fat mass is down and my lean mass is up. I can't wait!

[stingo]

Speaking for myself I know I experience kind of a down on weekends, simply because my body is used to being "up" from exercising. Giving it something to do on the weekends helps.

[Bill2380]

That's some good squatting Ray. Glad to hear that you're feeling better.

[RacerBill]

Originally Posted by rem1956

Oh....I forgot to mention in my above posting....weight was 217 this morning, down from 224 when i started. I'm looking forward to a body comp within the next few days. I know my fat mass is down and my lean mass is up. I can't wait!

Excellent!

[rem1956]

Thanks Bill and Bill...I love squats, not real fond of deads, but I do love squats....and those are ass to grass squats as well!

just got my results from a body comp...not as great as I was hoping for, but still a vast improvement. Maybe I was expecting too much too fast, and I know the diet issues still needs fine tuning. But pics, measurements and details will be posted shortly.

[rem1956]

OK...so here's the results....photos to follow later.

Body Composition

Total Body Weight: 7 Jan was 224 lbs; 5 Feb is 214.6 lbs; loss of 9.4 lbs
Lean Body Mass: 7 Jan was 142 lbs; 5 Feb is 140 lbs; loss of 1.8 lbs
Fat Mass: 7 Jan was 82 lbs; 5 Feb is 74.4 lbs; loss of 7.6 lbs
Fat %: 7 Jan was 36.3%; 5 Feb is 34.7%; loss of 1.6 %

Body Measurements (shown as 7 Jan then 5 Feb measurements)

Neck: 17.75 in; 17.25 in; loss of 0.5 in
L Bicep: 14.5 in; 14 in; loss of 0.5 in
R Bicep: 13.75 in; 13.75 in; no change
Chest: 47.5 in; 46 in; loss of 1.5 in
Waist: 48.5 in; 45.5 in; loss of 3 in
Hips: 41.25 in; 41 in; loss of 0.25 in
L Thigh: 23.75 in; 23.5 in; loss of 0.25 in
R Thigh: 23.0 in; 22.5 in; loss of 0.25 in
L Calf: 16.5 in; 15 in; loss of 0.5 in
R calf: 17 in; 16.5 in; loss of 0.5 in

Average fasting blood glucose for the month of Jan was 112, down from 142 before I started the challenge. Today it was 110.

Monthly attendance at my gym...early morning workouts at that...was 50%...goal was 70%. need to improve this.

Sleeping better at night; more restful. Overall feeling better.

Have made some improvements in weight training:

Bench Press from 3 sets of 10 x 100 lbs to 3 sets of 10 x 110 lbs
Bent Over Row from 3 sets of 10 x 50 lbs to 3 sets of 10 x 60 lbs
Upright Cable Row from 3 sets of 10 x 42.5 lbs to 3 sets of 10 x 50 lbs
Shoulders still need a lot of work...results seem inconsistent
Squats (ass to grass) from 3 sets of 10 x 140 lbs to 3 sets of 10 x 200 lbs
Deads from 3 sets of 10 x 100 lbs to 3 sets of 10 x 120 lbs
Hip Extension from 3 sets of 10 x 130 lbs to 3 sets of 10 x 140 lbs
Calf Press from 3 sets of 10 x 130 lbs to 3 sets of 10 x 140 lbs
Ab (machine) Crunch from 3 sets of 10 x 70 lbs to 3 sets of 10 x 75 lbs

I am beginning to see/feel some very slight differences in my quads, calves, bi/tri and pecs. Not a lot, but I'll take it!

I need to work on improving the nutrition. I'm going to start using fitday.com and log the foods.

Ok...now I got to get the pics posted.

They'll be coming your way soon.

[Lost Dog]

Good work.

I might start using fitday periodically, too. I keep making a week's worth of food and not keeping track of what I put in the dishes. So, tracking seems like it's not worth it. But, it might give me an extra bump in motivation.

[stingo]

An excellent start - keep the trend upward and you'll do just fine.

[Bill2380]

Really nice improvemnts Ray. Especially those squat numbers. Keep it up.

[RacerBill]

Nice progress, and you're really tracking it carefully. The reduction in FBG is great -- you're almost down to non-diabetic levels.

I'm really impressed with adding 60 pounds to your squat!

[rem1956]

Thanks Bill....but don't be too impressed. I never determined my 1RM for any of these moves. I just threw some plates on and started lifting, so my progress has been somewhat dramatic with some lifts, and ok with other. It's going to start leveling off since the squat weight has starting to become real work now. And of course, I've only had 5 or 6 upper and lower body workouts so far.

[rem1956]

Please Forgive Me, my brothers and sisters.....

For today, I sinned. Yes, I sinned greatly. I went to a chinese buffet for lunch. I ate large volumes of chinese food. Deep fried won tons. General Tso chicken. Spring rolls. Fried noodles. And much, much more.






And I ENJOYED IT!!!!!






And now, as I sit here at my desk, stuffed and bloated, that age old question is pondering through my brain....why did I do it? Why? Why?




and as I sat here pondering, a deep thundering voice that seemed to originate from the heavens above proclaimed "Oh hell Ray....I have a sense of humor too!"

[rem1956]

Ok, today we are back on the regular eating plan. I'm going to have to make up for all that grease and fat from yesterday!

Fasting blood glucose was 102 this morning. Outstanding!

Went to my gym for my early morning workout. I did 10 min on the cardio bike, and hiked the intensity up from 12 to 14. Very good warm up. I then did some stretches and off to the weights.

I switched around the routine a little today, supersetting the overhead press with bent over rows, and bench press with upright cable rows. Nice change....my body felt it.

Overhead Press: 3 sets of 10 x 40 lbs
Bent Over Row: 3 sets of 10 x 60 lbs

Upright Cable Row: 3 sets of 10 x 50 lbs
Bench press: 3 sets of 10 x 110 lbs

I followed this by a 5 min cardio bike cool down period at an intensty of 6, then a few more stretches and a nice hot steamy shower!

Going to start adding a few new lifts soon. I've kinda looked at what I've done so far as a "breaking in" period. Thinking of doing some dips, maybe lat pull downs, and some isolation work (flyes and shrugs perhaps). I need to work on my shoulder strength. My shoulders seem to be especially weak and tire very easy.

[stingo]

Try pushups - lots of different variations for every level of challenge. If you're doing deadlifts, incorporate a shrug when in the lockout position.

[rem1956]

Yeah, I always liked pushup. I remember from my old karate days we use to do pushups on fingertips, on knuckles, with hands extended outward, hands extended toward the rear, ooohhhh the pain!

Deads are on my lower day and shoulders would be on my upper day. The pushups would work the shoulders as well as the chest quite nicely though.......

[stingo]

Shrugs would work the trapezius though, not your shoulders, unless I'm missing something?

[rem1956]

no, you're not missing anything, you're right. But it would still be on my upper day. Upper day is for back, chest, shoulders and arms, although I do not do any lifts just for the arms. They get enough of a workout with the other compounds.

I'm not dead set on any of this just yet; I will probably be sticking with compounds moreso than any other moves; although I may do a few flys because I use to enjoy them alot.

I like the push up idea. They use to be quite challenging. I know a guy at my gym does push ups on the exercise ball, feet on the ball and hands on the floor. Looks hard!

Gosh....so many choices....so many exercise....so many muscles....if only I had the energy!

[stingo]

Yeah, actually going to do it is another story. lol

[rem1956]

Good morning world! another exciting Monday morning. I need to report on my progress over the weekend.

From 8 Feb:

Warm up/flexibility work

Lower Body and Core Conditioning
Squats: 3 sets of 10 x 200 lbs
Deads: 1 set of 10 x 120 lbs
Hip Extension: 3 sets of 10 x 145 lbs, each leg
Calf Press: 3 sets of 10 x 140 lbs
Ab (machine) Crunch: 10 x75 lbs; 2 sets of 10 x 80 lbs

Cool down/flexibility work



For 10 Feb:

Cardio bike ride, 30 minutes interval training, level 11.

[rem1956]

Good morning Boys and Girls! Today's weather is kinda BLAH!! Cold, partly snow and maybe freezing rain. This public service announcement is brougth to you by Swanson Frozen Dinners, where food you once thought good is now bad.

On to the morning workout news. I haven't been taking my morning fasting glucose since I've ran out of test strips for my glucose meter and just havn't gotten around to getting more. But I know my fasting glucose is ok, since I haven't been getting up several times in the middle of the night to pee!

As for the mornig workout, I made some slight changes. Upright rows are out, due to what I read in another thread in the training forum. New are pulldowns and flys. I know flys are just an isolation exercise, but hey...they're fun! And we should all do things in life that are fun!

So, with that in mind, today was upper body day.

The usual warmup on the cardio bike, followed by some stretches, then on to:

Bent Over Rows: 3 sets of 10 x 60 lbs
Bench press: 3 sets of 10 x 110 lbs
Pulldowns: 10 x 70 lbs, 10 x 80 lbs, 10 x 90 lbs
Overhead Press: 3 sets of 10 x 40 lbs
Flys: 2 sets of 10 x 70 lbs

This was followed by another round on the cardio bike (5 minutes) and a few minutes of stretches. Then off to a nice hot steamy shower!

On a side note....todays workout was especially taxing. Sindy was back! I haven't seen Sindy for quite some time, and I've been missing her. For those of you who didn't hear my story about Sindy, in a nutshell, I call her Sindy because when you see her, your mind automatically sins. This morning she was in tight white shorts, and a little stretchy thing on top. She was mainly struting, sometimes doing a feeble lifting attempt. Mostly she was getting attention from the guys and loving it. I had to really focus my attention on my lifts. If I allowed myself to look too long, the bar wouldn't be the only thing a rising in the gym! I just turned up the pace maker and kept on lifting (and sneeking peeks every now and then!).

Gotta go Boys and Girls! Stay warm today!

[rem1956]

Good evening everyone. Hope ya'll had a great day. We are getting freezing rain right now in Baltimore, otherwise I would be out buying some new protein mix.

Did a great job of healthy eating today, lots of water and green tea.

Just spent the last half hour or so in my basement, quietly meditating. I am becoming aware of the connection between daily stress, cortosil levels and fat storage. I have been trying to take "mini breaks" throughout the work day, to spend some quiet time meditating. It seems to help....I know tonight I feel much better and ready to settle down for a nice peaceful rest. Good night room. Good night moon. Good night cat. Good night John Boy. And good night to each and every one of you.

[rem1956]

Gee, I guess I need to check in and update everyone on current progress. I'm a little lazy on this!

Took off a few days due to feeling sorta sick; cold chills, low grade fever, loss of motivation and just plain tired!

Back on track 16 Feb with a morning workout. I did my usual opening act of cardio warmup and stretching, then my lower body routine.

Squats: 3 sets of 10 x 200 lbs
Deads: 3 sets of 10 x 120 lbs
Hip Extensions: 3 sets of 10 x 145 lbs each leg
Calf press: 3 sets of 10 x 150 lbs
Ab Crunch: 2 sets of 10 x 80 lbs; 10 x 85 lbs

I was feeling kinda high, like I wasn't satisfied. I could do more. So, I did.

I amazed myself with 10 x 240 lbs on the squat! Truely amazed. It was a muscle blower, but I squeeked out 10 in good form. I left the gym feeling numb that day, almost unable to walk!

On 17 Feb, I was pleased to find that my fasting blood glucose was 95!

Then on to 18 Feb....upper body workout. I stated with the usual, then went to the weight area and did:

Bench Press: 3 sets of 10 x 115 lbs
Pulldown: 3 sets of 10 x 80 lbs
Row: 3 sets of 10 x 60 lbs
Overhead Press: 3 sets of 10 x 40 lbs
Flys: 3 sets of 10 x 70 lbs
Lateral Raise: 3 sets of 10 x 30 lbs

Today is rest day. It was supposed to be Cardio HIIT day, but my body was so sore from the workout the previous days that I just didn't feel like it, so I declared this a rest day. I think my body does better with longer rest/recovery periods between workouts, like 2 days. In the past I always allowed just one day rest, and after a while my progress would decrease. Seems to be better progress this way.

I am noticing some good development of triceps and calves, as well as (could I be imagining this?) my abs? They seem....I don't know...firmer, less "squish".

[stingo]

Nice progress here, particularly in managing your blood sugar. Yeah it's not as hot firmer triceps or calves, but probably more important in the long run.

[rem1956]

Thanks Tom. You're right, it would be much more fun to rip off that shirt, and flex those massive bi's and tri's, and see all the hot babes fall over in awe...

*sigh* but a lower blood sugar is important as well. Just that babes never drop their jaw when they see my glucose meter reading.

BUT....I will take improvement any way I can get it! It's all traveling down the same road.

Take care Tom!

[Lost Dog]

Nice work. Glad to see you're feeling better.

[rem1956]

Thanks Roland. Being sick is a *itch! I missed my workouts. I'm going to suffer this month in my overall progress, since I've had a few too many missed workouts! But that too shall change!