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You are here: Home / Archives for Experiment of One

My Focus Journal Entry #8

February 15, 2015 By Michael Mahony, ISSA CPT Leave a Comment

focus-journal

Training this week was phenomenal! I focused on getting a good pump by squeezing hard on every repetition. This caused me to miss some of my prescribed numbers, but I saw an increase in DOMs so I feel like maybe this was needed. Honestly, I didn't feel much like training this week and when that happens I get back into it by experiencing every single repetition. I do this through the extreme squeeze technique that I've described in a previous article.

My nutrition was good, but I feel it could have been better and that's going to be a focus for the new week coming up. I am collecting healthy recipes into my Evernote right now. I plan to use those to help me hit my macro goals each week. This is always going to be a work in progress. I know this and I am not going to beat myself up.

Starting this week I have pictures to go along with my journal. Have a look at them below.

20141219 thru 20150215

You can see some slight differences. This is for the first 8 weeks. I guess I had farther to go than I thought, but at least I am heading in the right direction.

My stats are looking good as well:

Weight: 252.8 lbs.

Body Fat %: 20.1%

I will continue to focus on the workouts and getting my cardio done. I am enjoying working with my coach, Ryan Miller. He is very supportive and always there for me when I need him. If you are looking for a coach I highly recommend getting in touch with him. FYI, I get nothing for referring you except the satisfaction of helping you work with an amazing coach.

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  • Eat So You Hit Your Macros
  • My Focus Journal Entry #10
  • My Focus Journal Entry #6
  • My Focus Journal Entry #5
  • My Focus Journal Entry #4

Filed Under: Experiment of One, Featured, Regaining Focus

Some Unsolicited Advice

February 15, 2015 By Michael Mahony, ISSA CPT Leave a Comment

unsolicited-advice.

Unsolicited advice. We've all gotten some and we've all wanted to give some. The question becomes “Should advice be offered when not requested?” The secondary question is how I personally feel about it. This is where things become murky for me.

Offering Unsolicited Advice

This is an area I often struggle with. I see someone at the gym and they are doing an exercise entirely wrong. I don’t mean slightly wrong, I mean it borders on dangerous. Because I am a CPT I struggle with keeping my mouth shut. My general rule of thumb is what my relationship is to the person making the mistake.

I have people at the gym that I interact with regularly. We encourage each other and look for each other to be there. In a sense, we hold each other accountable for getting to the gym. With these people I would inquire as to what they were attempting to do and then make suggestions based upon their response.

As for people I don’t know at all, I tend to avoid any kind of advice for them unless I see immediate danger of injury. In that case I might say “Be careful, you’re putting your back in a dangerous position…wouldn't want you to get hurt.” I did say “might” because even in this situation it is touchy, so I usually just look the other way and hope they don’t get hurt.

Receiving Unsolicited Advice

I listen to everything someone says to me and then process it through several filters before deciding on its veracity. The filters I use are:

  • Who is giving the advice?
  • What have I seen from the advice-giver at the gym?
  • How does the advice compare to the technical things I already know?
  • How does the advice square with my current program?

Once the advice has passed through these filters I make a decision what to do.

I believe we should have an open mind and listen to the advice of others. We should never just dismiss something, especially if we've never tried it. At the same time, just because the advice-giver is “big” doesn't mean his advice is better than our own. Keep an open mind and you may see some major improvements as a result.

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Filed Under: Experiment of One, Featured

My Focus Journal Entry #7

February 8, 2015 By Michael Mahony, ISSA CPT Leave a Comment

focus-journal

This week my calories were lowered by 200. It is always a bit of a struggle at first because I am very good at dialing in my calories and then knowing exactly what to eat to hit them. This change will take me a week or so to get used to. In the mean time I am keeping very careful track of what goes into my mouth so that I don't exceed my calories.

I did have one day this week where I exceeded my calories. It was not by much and the week averaged out, so I am OK with it.

My body fat percentage dropped by 0.7% from last week. I am obviously heading in the right direction.

The training continues to be a challenge. I am enjoying that immensely.

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Filed Under: Experiment of One, Featured, Regaining Focus

My Focus Journal Entry #6

February 1, 2015 By Michael Mahony, ISSA CPT Leave a Comment

focus-journal

Wow, what a week! I finished my 4th microcycle with Coach Ryan Miller. While I am not going to reveal workouts and specific advice he has given me, I can say that his program is working for me. Here are some max lift numbers on core lifts that should blow your mind.

Core Lift 1/4/2015 2/1/2015 % inc/dec
Back Squat 320 lbs. 350 lbs. +9%
Incline BB Press 160 lbs. 185 lbs. +16%
Deadlift 350 lbs. 390 lbs. +15%
Chinup Grip Lat Pulldown 95 lbs. 150 lbs. +58%
Seated BB Overhead Press 135 lbs. 150 lbs. +11%

My 1 rep max increased on every single exercise in just 4 weeks. I attribute this to the way Ryan has me attack the exercises each and every workout. These numbers are close to my all time best numbers. For instance, the most I have ever deadlifted is 405 lbs. and I am at 390 lbs. at the moment. The most I have ever squatted is 365 lbs. and I am at 350 lbs. at the moment.

These numbers were done at pretty much maintenance calories. I am ready for more progress and this has simply increased my focus.

Related Posts:

  • Eat So You Hit Your Macros
  • My Focus Journal Entry #8

Filed Under: Experiment of One, Featured, Regaining Focus

My Focus Journal Entry #5

January 25, 2015 By Michael Mahony, ISSA CPT Leave a Comment

focus-journal

I am continuing to improve my lifting numbers. My focus is back in a big way. Having the support of my coach, Ryan Miller, has really helped. He changes up my goal numbers every week and then encourages me to go out and hit them. I am loving the heavy days because that's how I really enjoy training.

Nutrition has been spot on for the most part. I believe I am hitting 85 to 90% healthy meals. I have definitely managed to hit my macros the majority of the time, especially when averaged out over a week.

That's really all I have to report this week.

Related Posts:

  • Eat So You Hit Your Macros
  • My Focus Journal Entry #8

Filed Under: Experiment of One, Featured, Regaining Focus

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