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Mission 1, Day 81: Fooling myself…

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I must start by apologizing.  My interview subject was unavailable today.  Yes, I was very busy so I could not interview myself today.  I have plenty of time tomorrow, so I will conduct that all important interview with myself tomorrow.

Today was an interesting workout.  I keep my workout plan in Excel and each week I print out the workouts for that week only.  I am doing a set routine, so I look back at previous workouts and up th weight as I can.  Today was a 3 x 15 day for Squats and Deads.  I left the old sheets in my car by accident, so I had to wing it.  I thought about it and decided that the weight I should be lifting 3 x 15 on squats was 225 lbs. 

I grabbed a bar and determined what 40% of 225 lbs. would be (90 lbs is the closest I could come) and I proceeded to do 2 warm up sets at 90 lbs.  I then upped the weight to 135 lbs and did another warm up set.  I then upped the weight to 205 lbs and did a warm up set.  Finally, I added weight to make it 225 lbs. and climbed under the bar.  My Manta Ray device was in position and I picked up the weight and started the downward movement of the squat.  I reached parallell and pushed hard to go back up.  I could tell that the weight was heavy, but I also knew I was going to complete the set.  I squatted back down and then pushed back up…down…up…3 reps…down…up…down…up…5 reps….and on like that until I finally reached a grueling 15 reps.  I took the requisite 30 seconds rest (gee, thanks for the enormous rest period) and got back under the bar.  I pulled off another 13 reps, but just barely.  On the final set I did yet another 13 reps.  My legs felt like jello.

At this point I got my equipment into position to do the deadlifts. I did my warm up sets and then got to work.  Again, 225 lbs. was loaded up for the working sets on deadlifts.  I managed to get just 12 reps out and began to wonder what was wrong with me.  In set 2 I only managed 10 reps and in set 3, just 8 reps.  I finished off the workout and headed to the car.  I looked at my previous 3 x 15 workout from last week and got a shock.  I had done 205 lbs. in that workout.  I had increased the weight by 20 lbs., something I never do.  Now, while I wasn't able to complete all 15 reps, I did manage to completely outdo my previous 3 x 15 squat workout. 

This taught me an incredible lesson in mental toughness.  I went into that workout believing I could do the 225 x 15 x 3 sets and I got darned close.  It shows that when you believe you can do something you can accomplish whatever you set out to accomplish.  Weightlifting has a large mental component to it.  You can't psyche yourself out of doing the work.  Honestly, I don't even feel like I did the best job I could have. Something got into my head as I was lifting and that caused me problems now that I think about it.  However, I did overcome my own mental block regarding how heavy I can honestly lift on the squats.

On a side note, my Manta Ray is turning out to be an awesome tool for squats and I highly recommend it for anyone who is interested in squatting.  It improves the positioning of the bar and allows me to stay back when I do the squats.  At first it really caused me to struggle with the weights I had previously done, but with persistence, I am now back to where I was and am quickly making gains again. 

I am a strong believer in using tools to assist when lifting as long as it is going to improve your strength and not cause you to weaken other areas of your body.  The Manta Ray is as essential as my lifting straps for doing big lifts. 

Accountability Log:

  Mission 1:  Day 20 of 40 Accountability  
  Meal/Training Plan:  Real-time accountability Each task completed?  
  Day 81: January 14, 2008 Yes or No  
4:00 a.m. Meal 1:  Protein shake with glutamine and 30 g. of oatmeal and 3 glasses of water Yes
4:00 a.m. Supplements:  Animal Pak, Glucosamine Chondroiten, calcium, chromium, glutamine Yes
4:30 a.m. Workout:  Lifting and 30 mintues of HIIT and 6 glasses of water Yes
6:00 a.m. Meal 2:  Protein shake with glutamine, BCAAs and chromium and small salad and 3 glasses of water
9:00 a.m. Meal 3:  2 chicken breasts and large salad and 3 glasses of water Yes
12:00 p.m. Meal 4:  Peanut butter sandwich on 2 slices whole wheat bread and large salad and 8 oz. yogurt (plain) and 3 glasses of water Yes
3:00 p.m. Meal 5: Chicken breast and large salad (24 ounce) Yes
6:00 p.m. Meal 5: Chicken breast, brocolli and sweet peppers and 3 glasses of water Yes
8:30 p.m. Supplements:  Glutamine, calcium and 3 glasses of water Yes
  Accountability Areas: Points Possible
Meal 1 1 1
Meal 2 1 1
Meal 3 1 1
Meal 4 1 1
Meal 5 1 1
Training 1 1
Post Workout Nutrition 1 1
Water 1 1
Pre-sleep nutrition 1 1
Accountability 1 1
Daily Totals: 10 10
Mission Totals: 176 180
  Workout Log:    
Squats 225 x 15; 13; 13 [PB]
  Deadlift Shrugs 225 x 12; 10; 8 [PB]
Bulgarian Split Squats 40 x 15 x 3
  Step ups 35 x 15 x 3  
  Reverse Crunches 21 x 3  
HIIT Cardio Session 30 minutes
  Chin up training (60) 5 x 5  
[PB] = Personal Best
Push up challenge workout 35; 25; 25; 22; 38

Push up challenge workout:

The workout today for the push up challenge was very challenging.  I managed to get in 145 reps over the 5 sets that were required.  I have to say that I truly believe in the workout at http://www.100pushups.info because so far it has increased my push ups by a count of 12 in just 2 weeks. 

Nutrition today:

Today was back to a 40/40/20 macronutrient ratio.  I still tend to keep my carbs low, replacing them with alot of vegetables and I think that works well for my body.  I am going to shred hard in the final day of my mission.  Mission 1 has 19 days left and I plan to make use of each of those days.

Until tomorrow…GET BACK TO LIFTING…

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Mission 1, Day 80: Fruit day…I hate fruit day

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First, if you are looking for the podcast, it is delayed until tomorrow.  I was in a bad mood today due to the all fruit day that I'm on.  I like my protein too much for this fruit day stuff, but I am sticking to the plan.

With that said, protein depravation appears in the Optimum Anabolics program as well.  He pushes it further by allowing 30 grams of protein daily, but limiting your protein to that for 3 weeks!  Believe it or not, it actually works.  I can tell you that at the end of that 3 week period (when I did Optimum Anabolics)  I was pretty grumpy.

I have always needed protein with my meals.  I am now convinced that I am carb sensitive, but that with a measured approach, I can control that issue.  This Metabolic Surge program has proven that to me.  I can operate on very little carbs and still have alot of energy.  It is all about having the right carbs (fibrous ones).  When I discovered that eating more vegetables would give me the energy I needed, it was a major turning point in my program.  Now I am focused on eating alot of fibrous carbs at every meal.

Today I spent more time reading up about the Max-OT program, determing whether or not it will be a good program for muscle building for me.  I am now unsure that I will use it starting February 4, 2008.  I need to practice what I preach and stick to the program that I've been using because it works for me.  I will definitely find a place for Max-OT because it fits my lifting style, but not until I've gone through the Hypertrophy III program from the New Rules of Lifting.

I've been dong the New Rules of Lifting workouts since July 2007.  I've seen great gains and therefore, I am going to continue down that path.  In the book that have “rest and go again” at the end of a year.  That won't be happening for me because I believe it is important to change things up from time to time.  I've been working out 3 days a week for the past 6 months and before that I always went on a 5 day a week program.  I enjoy the 5 day a week program because I can focus on a single muscle group during that time.

Accountability Log:

  Mission 1:  Day 19 of 40 Accountability  
  Meal/Training Plan:  Real-time accountability Each task completed?  
  Day 80: January 13, 2008 Yes or No  
6:00 a.m. Meal 1:  Banana, apple and 3 glasses of water Yes
6:00 a.m. Supplements:  Animal Pak, Glucosamine Chondroiten, calcium, chromium, glutamine Yes
6:30 a.m. Workout:  Max-OT Cardio and 6 glasses of water Yes
8:30 a.m. Meal 2:  2 apples, 1 tangerine and 3 glasses of water Yes
11:30 a.m. Meal 3:  2 apples, banana, 2 tangerines and 3 glasses of water Yes
2:30 p.m. Meal 4: Jamba Juice Citrus Squeeze (24 ounce) Yes
5:30 p.m. Meal 5: 2 apples, 2 tangerines, 2 bananas and 3 glasses of water Yes
8:30 p.m. Supplements:  Glutamine, calcium and 3 glasses of water Yes
  Accountability Areas: Points Possible
Meal 1 1 1
Meal 2 1 1
Meal 3 1 1
Meal 4 1 1
Meal 5 1 1
Training 1 1
Post Workout Nutrition 1 1
Water 1 1
Pre-sleep nutrition 1 1
Accountability 1 1
Daily Totals: 10 10
Mission Totals: 166 170
  Workout Log:    
Max-OT cardio 16 minutes
Chin up challenge (60) 5 x 5
Push up challenge 40

Podcast:

As mentioned, my podcast will be released tomorrow (Monday the 14th).  I am going to be doing something interesting, but some would say schizo.  I am going to be interviewing myself.  I've compiled some of the most common questions I get asked and I've given my answers to those questions.  I honestly think it should be informative for anyone wondering about my program.

eBook:

I'm starting to have doubts about the eBook getting published by February 3, 2008. I just need more time to write and haven't had that time lately.  I have written 2 chapters plus the introduction so far.  I think it is going to be a great book when it is done.  If I can help even one person, I will be thrilled.  Afterall, that's a big reason I'm doing this blog. I want other people to realize that if I can do this, they can too.  My new sign off is related to the book and will be used from now on.

Until tomorrow…GET BACK TO LIFTING…

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Chin up challenge: Week 3

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The Challenge

Complete the most unassisted chin ups.

I challenge all of you who currently cannot complete a single unassisted chin up to see who can do the most unassisted chin ups by March 22, 2008.  It is important that you currently cannot complete a single unassisted chin up.

How do you get involved?

Leave a comment letting me know you want to be involved.  I will post an entry outlining my plan for how to accomplish some unassisted chin ups and in that entry will be the list of people interested in joining the challenge. 

What is involved?

Starting on Sunday, December 23, 2007 (80 days from the end of the challenge), I will begin a weekly post regarding the challenge.  Each of you should provide me (via email) your current progress regarding chin ups.  I will post this every Sunday for all the world to see.

Participants:

Tea [visit her blog]
Lynda [visit her blog]
Suzette [visit her blog]
Lilla [visit her blog]
Jeff
Michael [You are here]

Progress:

Tea — ?? Need an update please
Lynda — ?? Need an update please
Suzette — Suzette is figuring out how to get the training in to do the chin ups. 
Lilla — ?? Need an update please
Jeff — Assisted Chin machine: 2x (part of back routine)
            Assisted Chins: 3×10,4×10
Michael — Doing 5 sets of 5 chin ups with 60 pounds assistance

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New eBook!