This week was good.  I started off with a really good workout on Tuesday.  I've been doing the workouts from “The New Rules of Lifting” book and I am currently doing the Fat Loss II workouts (both A and .  The A workout has me doing Front Squats.  At first, when I began this workout, I absolutely hated those front squats.  I couldn't figure out the form and it just felt awkward.  Through a ton of concentration, I've managed to master the form and have been slowly increasing my weight.  I am now up to 135 pounds (having begun the program at around 65 pounds) on the front squat.

In addition to the front squat, the program has me doing lunges and a killer exercise called the Bulgarian Split Squat with Overhead Press.  This involves starting the exercise with one foot flat on the bench (the top of the foot is flat on the bench) and then you squat down with the other leg until the leg touching the bench is at a 90 degree angle.  All the time you are holding a pair of dumbbells.  You clean the dumbbells to your shoulders and then press them up.  At the end, you drop them back down and rise up for another rep.  You do each side independently.  This one really gets my heart rate going!  I feel like I've been running a marathon after I'm done.  I am really working hard and it feels like crap most of the time, but when I get done with it, I feel on top of the world.

I did alot of thinking this week as I went through “The Lean Body Promise” by Lee Labrada.  It didn't teach me anything I didn't already know, but it definitely helped to increase my own personal motivation.  As I've looked at pictures of myself I've realized that I'm making gains.  I can see the difference in my body.  While I wish it was going along faster, I am very happy with the gains I'm making.  My legs are toned up and the thighs have increased in side.  My butt has gotten bigger and it is all muscle.  I never even had a butt before.  It must be all the squats and deadlifts I have been doing.

Speaking of deadlifts, a funny thing happened at the gym yesterday.  I was at the squat rack and I had the bar down on the lower (flat) restraints.  I was loading it up to do my snatch grip deadlifts.  A guy I see at the gym quite oftten said hello and smiled.  He watched as I loaded 155 pounds on the bar and then commented “I know your strong, but are you gonna curl all that weight?”  He was joking and I got a really good laugh out of it.  I simply moved on and did my deadlifts.

I will begin a daily chronicle of my workouts beginning tomorrow.  I will most likely post the workout log and then my comments about how I've been feeling and what I'm thinking.  I'm focusing hard on doing things the right way.  I'm even reading a (rather boring) book about fat loss science right now.  It isn't the most interesting read, but it has already given me a better understanding of fat loss and why it sometimes just doesn't work.

 

Please come back and follow my progress.  Your comments are really appreciated.  They help to motivate me.  I do this blog for accountability and knowing people read it really helps.

I'm back, but really, I never left.  I just had no time for blogging.  I've been working out as normal.

About the middle of July I read “The New Rules of Lifting” by Lou Schuler and decided to give it a try.  I began with the breakin workout and now I'm on their Fat Loss II workout.  I will be posting the workout logs here very soon.  What I plan to do is post all four weeks of the breakin workout in one post and then begin posting my Fat Loss II workouts thereafter. 

So far, since I started the Fat Loss II workouts 6 days ago, I've dropped 4 pounds.  This particular workout (Fat Loss II) evokes some kind of metabolic response in my body because I feel completely without energy at the end of each workout.  Workout A isn't as tough as Workout B, but my heart rates are consistently around 85 to 90% of my max every workout (and that's during the lifting part, not the cardio part).

What I struggle with right now is getting the 5 meals a day in.  I try my best to get them in and for some reason they always manage to slip down to 4.  I don't feel like my calories are high enough, but at the same time, I seem to be burning fat (down 2% in 5 weeks of the NROL workouts) and losing weight (down 8 pounds in 5 weeks of the NROL workouts), so I'm not obssessing over the issue.  I realize that the calculators and things of that nature that help us figure out our alleged calorie needs are just guidelines.  We need to look at our results (and, as Tom Venuto likes to say, we always produce results–good or bad) and determine if things are going where we want.  Are we achieving the goals we set?  Are we working with maximim intensity?  Are we ABLE to work with maximum intensity (because if we can't, we are not feeding our body correctly)?

If you aren't already, I encourage you to track your weight, body fat percentage and measurements (arms, chest, abdominals, thighs and calves) weekly.  I use a spreadsheet that I will post n another blog and it automatically calculates my lean body mass and any change in body fat percentage or overall weight.  I then enter all my measurements and just watch for the results and what direction they are going.  I've lost over 20 pounds so far with this technique.  You just have to be persistent.

Stay tuned to this space for more on my progress.  You never know when something new and exciting will appear here!

So today I've been pondering what to do about my workout plan.  I spent alot of time reading through posts on http://www.discussbodybuilding.com.  I am not sure where I am going to head with this, but some changes will be needed shortly I am sure.

Incline DB flyes (ss)
40×12; 40×10; 40×8
Incline DB press (ss)
60×12; 60×10; 60×8

Low cross cable raise (ss)
40×12; 40×10; 40×8
Incline bench press (ss)
135×9; 135×10; 135×8

Superman (ss)
12; 10; 10
Full rotation knee raise (ss)
12; 10; 8

I had a day off in the middle of the week because I'm still not feeling 100%.  I started back in on my leg day as follows:

Leg extension (ss)
120×12; 135×10; 155×14
Lying leg curl (ss)
115×12; 130×10; 150×9

Standing calf raises (ss)
150×12; 175×10; 185×8
Barbell squat (ss)
185×12; 185×10; 185×8

Seated calf raise (ss)
135×12; 140×10; 145×8
Deadlift (ss)
165×12; 185×10; 205×8

Deadlifts just take the wind out of me.  I am working on my grip.  That's a severe limiting factor.

Today was my arm day.  I continue to push myself hard.

DB Preacher Curl (ss)
25×12; 25×10; 30×7
Twisting DB Kickback (ss)
25×12; 25×10; 25×8

Twisting DB curl (ss)
30×12; 30×10; 30×8
Dips (ss)
12; 10; 8

Bent leg crunch (ss)
16; 14; 12
Hanging Knee raise (ss)
12; 10; 8

I have really started looking at my results lately.  We all produce results, the question is do we produce results that are heading in the right direction.  For a long time I was obssessed with how much I weighed, but soon realized that if I started to gain lean muscle mass my weight might well stay the same, but my fat percentage would go down, thereby making me healthier overall.

I am going to be paying close attention to the results I'm producing and react accordingly.  I can see some potential for change, I just need to figure it out more in-depth before I react.