Today was another day where I had to work towards my plan.  The number of calories I'm trying to hit is just a bit higher than I'm used to, so I can't just instinctively know what to eat.  I am having to spend some time thinking about my eating decisions even after doing some planning because I want to be sure I hit my numbers.

I had another great leg workout today.  I enjoy leg day more and more now.  The amount of hard work that has to be put in to get a really intense leg workout is awesome.  You can't cruise through leg day and expect good results.

Working hard has become something I just do these days.  I get to the gym at times and I don't feel like working hard, but then I think about the fact that I have goals, I'm in the gym ultra early, so I'd better hit it hard.  My mindset immediately changes after just one good hard working set.  I think it is only natural to want to avoid the pain that can come along with an extremely hard working set of exercises.  At the same time, remembering the results I'm shooting for is motivation and it gets me through the workout.

In the past I've had procrastination issues.  It would be easy for me to put off a workout because that's just what I did–wait until tomorrow because I don't feel like it today.  Then I got serious (around July 2007) and worked hard to be consistent with my workouts.  The consistency was extremely helpful and I began to see some tangible results.  I still fight the tendency towards procrastination, but it isn't as bad now.  I enjoy my workouts so much that it is easier to get to the gym and get them done.

Some good news!  My good friend, Mike: Aussiebodybuilder Blog, is about to hit 200 days of consecutive blogging and posting of pictures.  Please pop over to his blog and leave him some encouraging comments.

Accountability Log:

I noticed that I forgot to reset the log for this week (since I am now in M3) so I will be resetting the log tomorrow.  So far I'm a perfect 30 out of 30!

Workout Log:

As mentioned, I had an awesome leg workout today.  The more I do these the more I enjoy them.  It is an intense workout that makes me feel like puking, but it is so much fun.  At one point today I blasted my calves so hard that I had a hard time walking to the next exercise.  My calves felt like they were about to explode.  My deadlifts were awesome.  I hit 390 for 8 reps. 

My current workout routine.  Click image for more information.

Thought for the Day:

Procrastination is a results killer, so get it under control.

Question of the Day:

What causes you to struggle the most with your transformation?  Comment this article to answer the question.

Mission 1, Day 7: My half way impressions

Until tomorrow…GET BACK TO LIFTING!

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Today I got up early and hit the gym for cardio and stretching.  I did a 24 minute PACE session on the treadmill.  In addition to upping the incline, I increased the speed for my sprints to 9.0 mph.  I had the following intervals:

1 minute – Warm up

3 minutes – 9.0 mph
2 minutes – 3.0 mph

2 minutes – 9.0 mph
2 minutes – 3.0 mph

1 minute – 9.0 mph
2 minutes – 3.0 mph

1 minute – 9.0 mph
2 minutes – 3.0 mph

2 minutes – 9.0 mph
2 minutes – 3.0 mph

2 minutes – 9.0 mph
2 minutes – 3.0 mph

The final 2 sets at 2 minutes at 9.0 mph were extremely tough and I was ready to collapse.  It was a pretty amazing PACE workout.

I also did upper body stretching today.  I've recently found that stretching on a regular basis (ie. having it as part of your program) is extremely important and beneficial to your program. 

I spent the rest of the day just out having a good time.  It was an extremely enjoyable time.

Tomorrow is the third and final podcast installment of Total Immersion.  This final installment discusses nutrition and Total Immersion.

Accountability Log:

Workout Log:

PACE Cardio 24 minutes on treadmill as listed above.  I will soon have a PACE chart that I will post.

Thought for the Day:

Work hard and remember that the difference between a loser and a winner is how hard the winner works.

Question of the Day:

When was the last time you incorporated a planned cheat meal into your nutritional plan?  Comment this article to answer the question.

Mission 1, Day 6: I see it!

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It is Sunday and that means more stats for the week:

In less than a month I've dropped 6 pounds of body weight, 3.8% of body fat, 8.9 pounds of fat and I've increased 2.9 pounds of LBM.  In the past week alone I've gained 0.8 pounds of LBM.  My body obviously loves high protein and low carbs and that's why my entire plan for M3 involves this type of nutritional setup.  I believe the closest I come to higher carbs is the ratio (carbs/protein/fat) of 30/50/20 and that's only during the bulking phase.

I start my bulking phase in 2 weeks and I'm excited because all I've ever done is cut.

Until later…GET BACK TO LIFTING!

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Today I finished the entire detailed, day by day plan for M3.  I now have in writing every single day of this mission and what I will be doing in the following categories:

Training
Stretching
Cardio
Nutrition Ratios (along with the exact breakdown of carbs, protein and fat)
Nutrition Calories

Everything I am doing is now planned until August 20, 2008.

I also came to a realization today.  I apologize, but I must stop posting my actual workout logs.  I realized today that the workouts I am doing are copyrighted material and I don't want to violate that copyright by posting the workouts here.  Therefore, I will replace my workout logs with a textual journal of my workout experience for that day.  This way I am still being accountable for my workouts, but I am not revealing the copyrighted secrets of Vince Del Monte.

Plan for Next Week:

Accountability Log:

Workout Log:

Today was a bodyweight workout.  This is part of the Upside Down Training plan from the No Nonsense Muscle Building Program by Vince Del Monte.  The idea of this phase of the plan is to minimize personal muscle weaknesses and ensure that both sides of your limbs are performing equally.  The purpose of the bodyweight training portion of UDT is to improve functional strength and conditioning.  Vince quotes Alwyn Cosgrove who states that “you have no freaking business using a load if you can't stabilize, control and move efficiently using only your body weight.” 

This phase is tough because you do as much as you can in 20 seconds, rest for 20 seconds, then move on to the next exercise and repeat the process until one circuit is completed.  You start out doing 1 set the first workout, 2 sets the second workout and 3 sets from the 3rd workout onward.  Today I had to do 3 sets for the first time.  I can feel myself slowing down as the exercises progress.  It is an extremely tough workout that is really paying dividends already.  I can feel it afterwards.

Thought for the Day:

Take the time to focus on your goals becuase you set them for a reason.

Question of the Day:

Why do you (or not) plan your workouts ahead of time?  Comment this entry with your answer.

Mission 1, Day 5: The Shredding Continues…

Until tomorrow…GET BACK TO LIFTING!

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Focus is the key element to the successes I've had lately.  I have attempted to raise my focus to a new level and I am finding it hard to get there now.  I have been focused on getting my meals in every 3 hours and on hitting the gym at the same time every single day.  While this happens pretty consistently, the meals are a difficult issue for me to deal with.  I give myself credit for hitting a slot as long as I get to it within 30 minutes of the planned time.  I would like to be more focused in this area.

I have always been a very focused person.  I have been a chess player most of my life and that requires a great deal of mental focus.  I've gotten myself to a very high level of play and attribute that to my focus.  I want to do the same with fitness.  I want to be so focused that people are in awe of my focus.  I want to live and breathe my plan. 

I mentioned that I am going to stick to my plan no matter what this time.  As a follow up, I am deadly serious.  I will not veer from the plan.  I am going to hit every workout hard.  I am going to eat the way I planned it.  I am going to do my cardio per the plan–no more, no less.  I am not going to panic.  If the results aren't exactly what I expected, I am going to ride it out.  I learned a lesson with my nutritional experiment that is invaluable.

During the experiment I tracked my weight and body fat percentage on a daily basis.  In my spreadsheet I had a listing for LBM and fat pounds.  What I learned is that I could start the week at 210 and eat nothing but protein shakes for an entire day and find myself at 213 the next morning (same exact weigh in time).  Without panic setting in, I would stick to the plan, doing my workouts as planned and eating as planned and by the end of the week, my results would show that I had lost pounds and body fat.  Over the long haul I managed to drop alot of fat.  My point is that I didn't overreact to the feedback my body was giving me.  I stuck with the plan because the plan was based on evidence I had gathered over time.  My normal reaction would have been to tweak the plan.

Now tweaking is fine as long as you are tweaking for the right reasons.  Perhaps you find that your high carb days are just too high in carbs.  You can always tweak the carb number down a bit.  It is still a high carb day so the plan isn't really changed.  My advice is to really think through your plans before you begin executing them.  If you've given them alot of careful thought, stick to them.  Don't let panic make you vary.

Accountability Log:

Workout Log:

PACE Cardio on elipptical for 24 minutes with resistance set to 10.

Thought for the Day:

Plans are supposed to be well thought out and thoroughly documented.  Without both aspects it wouldn't be much of a plan.

Question of the Day:

Read the article:  4 Stages of Mental Mastery and then tell me what stage you are at.  Comment this article to give me your answer. 

Mission 1, Day 4: Even when life continues to happen…

Until tomorrow…GET BACK TO LIFTING!

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