Posts written by Michael J. Mahony

Today was an interesting day overall.  I got up at my usual 3:00 a.m. and hit the gym by 4:00 a.m.  I felt like crap during my workout.  I literally found myself shaking at times.  I totally focused on the rest time today.  I am usually really on it, but today was more so.  For instance, it takes time to grab the bar off the rack for the BB Push Press, so instead of waiting the full 60 seconds, I grabbed the bar at 50 seconds and waited til the stopwatch hit 60 seconds before starting the set.  I was a gelatin mess after this workout!  That's where today's title comes from.  I am taking no mercy on myself, no matter how I feel.

Spent some time today considering how important it is to celebrate our successes.  Your Best Year Yet starts with that question–what did you accomplish?  What did I accomplish this past year?  I began to list the things I accomplished.

• I lost 30 pounds
• I began this accountability blog
• I worked out consistently
• I consistently ate correctly
• I dropped 14% body fat
• I got closer to my family

There's more, but you get the point.  The focus on what you've accomplished helps give you confidence.  The worst you should do is repeat those same things next year.  The best you can do is improve on each of those things and add a bunch more items to the list.  But you need to celebrate your success.  You shouldn't feel boastful for wanting to celebrate your accomplishments.  Those celebrations remind you of how far you've come.  That is very important for your future.

Accountability Log:

Nutrition Log:

Workout Log:

Steady state cardio for 45 minutes on bike
Flatten Your Abs workout 30 minutes

Go ahead and celebrate your successes.  I'm over here showing no mercy, you might as well celebrate!

Until tomorrow…GET BACK TO LIFTING!

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Today was a complete rest day.  The only thing I did was stretching and a shoulder stabilization program I just started.  The aim is to strengthen the rotator cuff to avoid injury in the future.  The stretching goal is obvious.

I want to clarify a few things going forward.  I will be posting a push up video every other week.  I am using the 100pushups.info workout program and just decided that if I want to make maximum progress I should not do a video each week.  It is a psychological thing for me.  I will be getting back into the podcasts starting tomorrow (look for a new one).  I will post a video podcast every 4 weeks, but that will not supercede the audio podcast at all.  The next topic for a podcast is going to be nutrition.  I am going to discuss what I've learned from Chris Aceto, Tom Venuto, Vince DelMonte and others.  The podcast will include a discussion of carb cycling, carb tapering and gradual carb reduction.  It should help all the shredders to get a bigger picture of the many methods of nutrition available.  It was fun to put together.

I spent the day continuing my reading in Your Best Year Ever.  I am ready to make some serious goals and those goals will help me make some serious progress. 

I am fired up for my workout tomorrow.  When I first started this workout series I feared this particular workout.  At this point I love it!  I love what the bent over rows have been doing for my back.  I'm ready to get cracking on my 4 x 12 workout tomorrow.  I am ready for more “No Mercy” workouts, that is for sure.

Accountability Log:

Nutrition Log:

Workout Log:

Web 2.0:

On another note, we all know that Adam is in Florida and the event he is attending is being blogged about here.  If you haven't subscribed to Rich Schefren's newsletter I strongly recommend it.  He is definitely an expert on Web 2.0 and marketing in this age. 

Until tomorrow…GET BACK TO LIFTING!

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The stats for the week are in.  Despite getting decent results, I'm going to experiment with the Vince DelMonte method of cutting.  Here are the results for the week:

While I agree with the concept of bringing your calories up to your maintenance level gradually to repair your metabolism, I am hearing Tom Venuto's response to me as I see these results.  I've lost LBM 3 weeks in a row and that means I'm not losing fat fast enough.  Thus, I am going to make a decisive and immediate change.  Effective this week, I have my calorie target on my accountability log.  The plan is:

I will begin with a carb rotation cycle of 3 days low, 1 day high.  The low days will be 2250 calories.  The high days will be 2700 calories.  I will begin with a ratio of 45/35/20.  I will reduce the carbs each week as follows:

As I hit the lower carb percentage of 10% it will be very much like Metabolic Surge.  Carbs will be around 50 grams each day at that point.  The objective is to incinerate as much fat as I can as fast as I can.  This is a routine used by Fitness Competitors as they cut down for a fitness contest.  At the same time, I will be training as hard and heavy as ever.

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Today was a light day for me.  I got up and did my cardio (30 minute HIIT with 30 second intervals, high and low).  I then returned home and settled in with a book called Your Best Year Yet by Jinny S. Ditzler.  It is all about setting goals and the analysis that goes on before setting goals.  I am finding it to be an enjoyable read so far.

What I'm not so sure I'm liking (and tomorrow will confirm or deny this for me) is the increased calories.  While I definitely like the energy that comes along with it, I am starting to see (in the mirror) that I've grown in places.  Perhaps it is muscle and perhaps it is fat, that's what tomorrow's stats will help me figure out.  If there's a problem, I already have a plan in place to handle it.  If it isn't a problem, my calories are going up to 2800 next week (yikes!).

There isn't alot to discuss today.  My mind has been going in alot of different directions.  I also spent more time writing the eBook today and editing some of the prior chapters.  I'm starting to get a good feel for how I want the final product to look.  I also spent some time with Fireworks working on the layout for the website.  That was alot of fun.

Accountability Log:

Nutrition Log:

Workout Log:

Thoughts on Bulking:

I have been studying up on how to properly bulk.  The main thing I've learned is the need to eat alot of clean calories.  Everything else I've read like training with intensity, training to failure, etc. are things I already knew.  I'm starting to learn that there really is no big secret to this process.  It is about learning the right way to do it and then executing.  Execution is the key though.  Execution involves consistently applying the principles we all know about. 

Until tomorrow…GET BACK TO LIFTING!

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