Bacardio's TNT Transformation

[bacardio]

Day 28 (2-3-08):
Weight: 184.0 lbs
BF%: 19.0

Last official day of 1st plan A phase

Diet:
Went to a Super Bowl party, so I knew there would be no tracking it.
Overall, I know I ate more than normal and with a few drinks (1 beer, 3 mixed). By a complete guess-timation, I would say around 4000 calories, with a split of 40%/40%/20% of fats/carbs/protein.

When I blow it I blow it.

Exercise:

Tweaked my knee last night, so was a little worried about working out today, so skipped it to play it safe.

Things learned:
- By watching EVERYONE at the party cheer for the Giants, just proves NOBODY like a team that has to cheat to win.

[bacardio]

Originally Posted by RedLefty

You'd better watch those 2,300 kcal days. Five or six of those in a row and you might gain a whole pound. And almost half of it might not be lean tissue.

As you may have surmised, I have no clue when it comes to eating properly. I am just trying to follow the little advice I have received so far and from the TNT book.

I know it's a lot of trial and error, so I just have been trying to work with the suggestions I have been given.

I wasn't seeing myself lose any weight, so Adam suggested I reduce my caloric intake, so I did and started to see the weight go down.

But I don't know how far to reduce that before it becomes counter-productive to muscle gain.

This is the big reason for documenting everything I am doing, so I can try and learn this from people with a lot more knowledge than myself. You, Roland, Adam, Lisa, and others have been a big help so far.

As you will be able to see from my challenge stats, I am making progress, but not as much as I need. I know its the nutrition part still that I need to clean up, so keep the advice coming, I need all I can get.

BTW, nice work on finishing HH.

[bacardio]

Day 29 (2-4-08):
Weight: 186.4 lbs
BF%: 20.3


Diet:

- Didn't drink enough water yesterday, drank other stuff but not enough of it was water

Exercise:
- 60 minutes of hockey (W 5-3)

Things Learned:
- weight went up 2.5 lbs from the Super Bowl party, probably take me a week to get that back down.

[Tin Man]

Originally Posted by bacardio

weight went up 2.5 lbs from the Super Bowl party, probably take me a week to get that back down.

A good cup of coffeee and some bran will clear that up quick...

Get back on the water...most of that is just bloat from the booze and bad food...skate a few man-makers after each game.

BTW- is the Basil on your team "the" Basil from the NHL?

[bacardio]

Day 30 - Day 31 (2-5-08 & 2-6-08):

Yesterday afternoon I got drilled by some kind of stomach/body flu. Stomach, migraines, my whole body just ached so I didn't eat much yesterday or today.

The little I did eat was mostly carbs, "the ole breads settle the stomach" philosophy.

Needless to say, my first real hurdle, hopefully be better tomorrow

[RacerBill]

Argh. Stomach flu sucks. Hope you're feeling better soon.

[RedLefty]

I think I'm the only person I know who hasn't been sick yet. Hope yours is over quickly.

[bacardio]

Day 32 (2-7-08):

Diet:



Still feel under the weather, but I guess I ate more then I thought once I added everything up


Exercise:
- none

[bacardio]

Day 33 (2-8-08):
Weight: 185.2 lbs
BF%: 19.3%

Feel better, so back on the wagon again

Diet:

- Messed up the fat to protein ratio. I knew I would with the 2 cans of tuna and protein powder.

Exercise:

PLUS:
TKD sparring and drills: warm-up (20 minutes), drills (20 minutes), 20 minutes of free sparring


- can't say if I was really challenged with these weights. Swiss Ball exercises were a bitch, but that was mostly due to lousy balance.
- embarrassed by the DB Bench Press, can't believe I am down to 50 DBs. I will move that up.

Questions:
- Honesty, not use to doing total body lifting. Does completely fatiguing the muscles at the beginning of the circuit hurt muscle development for the exercises later or should I try and fatigue on all exercises?

Things Learned:
- I had not expected but I actually GAINED weight while being sick. Weds morning I weighed in at 183.0 lbs, had roughly 1300-1500 calories. Thurs morning was 184.2 lbs. Thursday had 1700+ calories and woke up Friday at 185.2 lbs. I am sure someone will be able to explain it to me, but it did surprise me.
- Oh well, I am back in business now. Hopefully this month I can make some progress, I didn't any frickin' difference in my month one to month two pictures. Little disappointed in that.

[bacardio]

Originally Posted by RacerBill

Argh. Stomach flu sucks. Hope you're feeling better soon.

Originally Posted by RedLefty

I think I'm the only person I know who hasn't been sick yet. Hope yours is over quickly.

Thanks guys, appreciate the support. Quite a nice family here on the JPF forum.

[bacardio]

Originally Posted by Tin Man

A good cup of coffeee and some bran will clear that up quick...

Get back on the water...most of that is just bloat from the booze and bad food...skate a few man-makers after each game.

BTW- is the Basil on your team "the" Basil from the NHL?

No, Fear tends to live in his own little dream world.

He does hit a lot of things during the game, but it is rarely an opponent or the back of the net. Its usually the ice, the end boards, or the cooler.

[bacardio]

Day 34 (2-9-08):

Diet:
- Boss took a bunch of us to MN Wild hockey game, so tracking of diet went "poof". Overall, before the game was tracking good. High in fats and protein, probably not enough fiber. Before and after game, the food was .5 lb burger, with bacon and cheese, fries, cookie (I know, bad Doug) and four drinks on the night (Mich Ultra Amber, MGD (light ?), Guinness, Bacardi & Diet Coke).

Higher in carbs than I should have so back to it tomorrow.

[bacardio]

Day 35 (2-10-08):

Diet:

- was busy doing construction work, so I pretty much forgot to eat. Had a big meal at night but didn't get enough protein.
- fiber WAY to low

Exercise:

- not certain what I had the DB Push Press at, update exercise image later to reflect actually weight.
- had wife watching form on Romanian Deadlift, never done that before so was uncertain of proper technique. Watched a couple videos on YouTube, so I knew what I was supposed to do and she saw how I was suppose to do it. Overall, she said I had the form correct (back remained straight, and didn't bow). Tried to use my hips, but still felt it in my lower back when I was done. Is that normal???
- Felt good about this workout, I really struggled on the 3rd set on all exercises

[RedLefty]

Taking things one by one:

1) Gaining weight while being sick. This is why daily weigh-ins are a maddening practice to most people. There's no such thing as "caloric balance" minute-to-minute. In a given day you eat, sleep, work, think, exercise, poo, sit, etc... your metabolic rate won't stay the same throughout all those activities. You're in a constant state of flux, and tracking calories over a daily and weekly period is just a good way for our minds to structure the information. But your body doesn't know it's Monday afternoon, or day 8 of a 23-day exercise routine. And if over a period of time you're adding muscle and losing fat, the scale won't make any sense sometimes.

Add in being sick, and all kinds of other factors come into play. The endocrine, lymphatic and immune systems get all charged up, and in general the body wants to get anabolic as a method to promote healing. Water retention changes, metabolic rate changes... it's a wild world going on inside you. Whatever the scale says on those days, you should probably let it go.

2) When my lower back twinges on Romanian DL, it means my form is off. Usually it means I'm bending at the lumbar (lower) spine, even if my mid-and-upper back is still in good position. More knee bend and thrusting the hips back farther usually helps me.

3) Your comment on the Men's Challenge thread about exercise form is correct -- when your form breaks down, you've reached failure. That shouldn't mean that you have a lot left in the tank, though. If you're leaving the gym always feeling like it wasn't enough, then add more and see what happens.

Instead of thinking about body goals in terms of aesthetic results (weight, body fat levels, shape, etc...), how about performance goals? How big do you think your DB push press will have to be to get the shoulders and traps you want? What kind of TKD and hockey conditioning would you have at 12% bodyfat?

Think about what you really are going for, and how all these activities add to (or take away from) the end goal. If it's all about the mirror, TKD may not be the best use of your energy and time 3x a week. If it's about hockey performance and stamina, then how much muscle is really necessary? Your original goals said you wanted to be under 170 lbs., with a 300lb. bench press and great TKD flexiblity. If those start to look mutually exclusive, do you have them ranked in importance? And are you trying to accomplish all three at the same time, or is there a general order in your head (strength first, then flexbility/mobility, then fat loss)?

Just throwing lots of stuff out there and seeing what sticks.

[bacardio]

Originally Posted by RedLefty

2) When my lower back twinges on Romanian DL, it means my form is off. Usually it means I'm bending at the lumbar (lower) spine, even if my mid-and-upper back is still in good position. More knee bend and thrusting the hips back farther usually helps me.

OK, I will have her watch me next time and keep an eye on the lower back. With that said, should I feel anything in the lower back or as soon as I do, I know my form is off. Just wondering if the back is touched at all in this exercise. I am guess that I shouldn't and the muscles are isolated to strictly the hips and the muscles in the shoulder and arms that hold the barbell.

Originally Posted by RedLefty

Instead of thinking about body goals in terms of aesthetic results (weight, body fat levels, shape, etc...), how about performance goals? How big do you think your DB push press will have to be to get the shoulders and traps you want? What kind of TKD and hockey conditioning would you have at 12% bodyfat?

Think about what you really are going for, and how all these activities add to (or take away from) the end goal. If it's all about the mirror, TKD may not be the best use of your energy and time 3x a week. If it's about hockey performance and stamina, then how much muscle is really necessary? Your original goals said you wanted to be under 170 lbs., with a 300lb. bench press and great TKD flexiblity. If those start to look mutually exclusive, do you have them ranked in importance? And are you trying to accomplish all three at the same time, or is there a general order in your head (strength first, then flexbility/mobility, then fat loss)?

You've got me thinking here.

In all honesty, my appearance is my main focus. I really want to get rid of the spare tire. The other stuff was pretty much secondary.

But looking deeper into it, you have a point. I have been debating my diet/exercise routine and my end goal for a couple of weeks.

I went to TNT plan, because of its fat loss potential. So the mirror is honestly the primary factor, it shouldn't be, but is. I am sick of being fat and doughy.

I probably should have stated a 12-13% or lower body fat, rather than a weight goal.

The next thing that has really worked its way into my list is my hockey performance. My speed and agility have departed for greener pastures in the past couple of years. And I can't completely blame that on my weight, because I have been in the 180s for several years now. But I used to do a lot of treadmill and stairmaster, which I think gave me better endurance than I have now. So my second goal would be getting my endurance back. It's this goal that has me wondering about my choice of programs.

I was starting to think of after doing the TNT plan for 3 month, I would move to one of these HIIT plans that most of you have been doing. Something that would get me working on strength and endurance. I didn't want to stop the TNT routine already, since I stated I wanted to show people what the TNT plan could do (But as Adam kind of stated, I am not doing to plan properly. Not certain if I ever got back on track or not. I think I did, but not certain.). But I could always add cardio work to the plan.

Since I am in TKD already, I figured it would only help me achieve my original goals. But I don't have to go the 4-5 times a week, if there are ways of me achieving that fat loss I am working for.

I know what I want, but have no idea how to achieve it. It is this that has been my primary focal point in joining this forum and this challenge -- to get the knowledge from others who know what they are doing.


Hopefully, this doesn't like a bunch crap, I have been trying to program and write this reply at the same time.

I do appreciate you help RL. Thanks and I mean that..

If ever anyone has something I should or shouldn't be doing, please tell me. If you don't want to call me an idiot in front of the whole world, PM instead. I am grateful for any help or advice.