Posted by Chris on October 29, 2009
As with my Polyphasic updates I had to skip one week but to make up for it I have finalized my current workout routine
I have decided to do a quick clean Bulk until late November. My reasoning is that I had put on quite a bit of fat in the past few months and I don't want to let it go to waste.
It is much easier to gain muscle with a bit of a fat pad. More muscle = a faster metabolism. And of course a faster metabolism means faster weight loss.
For those of you unfamiliar with the term bulk, its is basically just a switch to gaining muscle. So I increase my caloric intake and Lift heavy weights in the 8 - 10 rep range to gain muscle(and usually a little fat).
So here is my current exercise brake down:
the first number after an exercise is the Sets the second and third the rep range.
Monday:
Chest/Tris/shoulders
Bench 4x 8-10 (increasing weight each set)
Incline Bench 4x 8–10 (increasing weight each set)
Chair Dips
Triceps Isolation (various exercises)
Shoulder Presses
Y Presses.
Tuesday:
Abs/light Cardio
Wednesday:
Back/Bis
Deadlifts 4x 8-10 (increasing weight each set)
Chin ups and pull ups
Bicep Curls ( lots of variations 8 -10 rep)
I sometimes throw in a few Rows but so far the heavy deadlifts leave my back pretty shaky so i don't want to over do it.
Thursday: Abs/Cardio or rest
Friday:
Legs/back
Squat 4x 8-10(increasing weight per set)
Leg Raises
Pull Ups Chin Ups
Calf Work (various exercises)
Saturday:
Rest or Cardio
Sunday:
Rest
I throw in some different muscle groups here and there if i feel up to it. Like some Chest Flys on Fridays or Bench.
I have Increased my Protein and Calorie Intake to match my Goal of gaining some weight.
My diet changes a lot and isn't 100% steady but it seems to work ok.
I gained a few lbs these past 2 weeks putting me at 206lbs. All of my Free weight exercises have increased dramatically. But i have a harder time with body weight exercises (lost 1 rep on my pull ups)
My current plan is to Gain weight for a few weeks and then Start a P90X 90 day modified routine to loose the fat for next spring.
If you have any questions leave comments.
Posted by Chris on October 14, 2009
I lost another lb down to 201 lbs.
The shippment of my supplements from bb.com arrived last week on Tuesday just as i expected
USPlabs Jack3d, 250 Grams, Lemon Lime
So i was a bit surprised by the size of jack3d it was smaller than i expected. But after trying it for a week i realized it doesn't matter at all. The scoop is proportionally smaller and the results are great.
Comparing jack3d to Sp250.
Jack3d has more of a clean feeling to it. Not as jittery and more focused. Sp250 has a bit more of a pump but jack3d is very comparable. Overall i like jack3d better now but SP250 is still a great supplement.
Dymatize Elite 12 Hour MRP, 20 Packets, Fudge Brownie
The Dymatize MRPs dont mix very well so i recommend a shaker or a blender. They taste ok, a bit like a blended up protein bar. It wasn't the best tasting experience but the price and nutrition is right.
CytoSport Muscle Milk, 2.47 Lbs, Cake Batter
And of course the muscle milk cake batter tastes great. A bit sweeter then i remember but still one of the best tasting protein powders around.
So with my new supplements i increased my workouts steadily over the week and I'm making good progress once again. The velocity diet at lunch helped a lot and i decided to keep it up for another 7 days. Its very convenient to just drink a shake instead of having to pack a lunch.
Since my workout schedule is stabilizing more i should be able to post a full example of it next week.
Posted by Chris on October 6, 2009
I lost about 1 lb and my lifts and P90X cardio are improving. My diet is getting cleaner every day but I'm still to hungry around lunch time. So I decided to do a partial velocity diet.
The velocity diet is pretty simple. You drink a protein shake/mrp(meal replacement) for every meal and that's it. Its a way to loose some quick weight and shrink your stomach while still getting enough protein and other beneficial ingredients to maintain muscle.
Long term this diet is of course bad. But short term or even just replacing 1 meal its actually a good idea. So my plan for this week is to replace all my lunches with protein shakes/mrps. That should cut down on lunch hunger after that week is over and make it easier to eat smaller healthy portions.
My new supplements and protein should be arriving today.
I ordered:
CytoSport Muscle Milk, 2.47 Lbs, Cake Batter: Best tasting protein powder ever. I eat it with my oats in the morning or if I want to enjoy a shake and not chug it.
USPlabs Jack3d, 225 Grams, Lemon Lime
: My Sp250 is running low so I ordered some of this to replace it. I haven't tested it yet but I have heard great things about it.
Dymatize Elite 12 Hour MRP, 20 Packets, Fudge Brownie
These are great for days when I don't have time to make a certain meal. Provides all the nutrition I need without all the junk around it. Also needed for the velocity diet.
Posted by Chris on September 25, 2009
Since i finished my 30 day polyphasic experiment(decided to stick with it for now) I am now starting a new one.
This might not be the most exiting but it is sorely needed. My new 30 day habit is going to be: diet and exercise.
I have posted my diet and exercise routine before and that is theoretically how i eat. But in reality i haven't eaten like that consistently over the past few month. Consistently to me means: no cheating, eating restricted calories every day for 30 days.
The Rules: Ill try to keep it as simple as possible.
The #1 rule is to stay below 2200 calories. So if i dont have time to cook or don't feel like eating tuna 1 day as long as i stay below the calories I'm still ok.
#2 Try to stick to the diet and healthy foods. After rule #1 this one isn't as important for weight loss but it is for health. The key to weight gain and loss is calories in vs calories out. If there is a net loss then you will loose weight and the other way around.
#3 P90X at least 1 hour per day. Again this aids weight loss and is great for health and body composition. It can offset some bad choices on the calories as well if needed.
So starting today.
Stats:
Male
Height: 6'2
Weight: 203lbs
Body fat%: just below 20
Goal: 10% body fat in the 180lbs
Posted by Chris on September 23, 2009
A pretty popular method in self development and getting the most out of your potential is to create new and improved habits. The 30 day rule comes in very handy for this. First: 30 days is only a month, even if it seems tough its only a month to give it a try. Its easier to stay focused and keep enough willpower to stick with it for the 30 days than to say:"well it will take me at least x months to accomplish x goal".
One such example would be Diet. Setting a new diet for 30 days and sticking with it as sort of an "experiment" is much easier then to tell your self your making a permanent change for the years to come. Polyphasic sleep would be another good example. If you set your self a goal for 30 days its much easier to get up every day knowing you just have to last 30 days rather than indefinitely.
Second:You get 30 days worth of results. It is a great evaluation point for your progress to see if things went the way you had hoped or if the new habit isn't really for you.
If after the 30 days are up you decide that what ever you where testing out didn't work for you, you can always have the peace of mind that you really tried it out and gave it a shot. It wont be stuck in the back of your mind nagging you to try it again.
Now you can start as many of these as you'd like but sometimes less is more. You have to self evaluate and know your will powers limits. Each 30 day experiment will take a certain amount of willpower to complete. If you split it into to many pieces you may end up not completing any of them.
So if you want to try something new or want to change some of the habits in your life try it for 30 days.
Posted by Chris on August 31, 2009
This morning is weird. My body feels good and not tired. But my eyes will not stop attempting to shut and go to sleep. I drifted into a split second of sleep a few times. And have to be careful now.
I'm so tired, I'm tempted to ad an extra nap. I have to say this morning was the hardest to stay awake. My eyes would not stop trying to go back to sleep. I must have drank a gallon of ice water and done 50 pull-ups over these past few hours to stay awake. But I've almost made it to the 7 am nap. Which will fix everything hopefully (don't want to be a zombie at work).
Made it to work: So after all this work to stay awake till 7am, I then overslept my 7am nap. I woke up at 7:25 and turned off my phone alarm but I was so drowsy I somehow fell right back asleep. I then woke up at 7:50 with my phone in my hand. I must have jinxed myself yesterday. An extra 25 minutes isn't the end of the world but I'm pretty mad about that.
I also have a theory on why I'm so tired today. Yesterday we where on the go a lot. So I took my Girlfriend out to Mexican food. Well I pigged out and had tons of chips and salsa and then a massively huge burrito.
It was delicious but it gave me heartburn and was entirely too much food. I felt very sluggish after eating it and I had to take some anti-acids before I went to sleep at 11. My theory is that over eating screwed up my core sleep a bit and I woke up very sleep deprived. I feel okay now and I figure I should be fine for the rest of the day. I will make sure to eat extra clean today to see if the results change tomorrow.
Posted by Chris on August 28, 2009
Ahhh. Day 3. Dare I say it ? Yes, its worse then day 2 and 1 added together. My eyes hurt and I'm very tired. The first hour awake I had trouble focusing my eyes. Now I'm kind of in the zombie mode. I'm awake but not really. My body feels heavy and tired. It feels like I have to drag it around with sheer will power. Not sure what I'm going to do. Even physical activities sound like a lot of work with this tired body of mine. And my eyes still hurt.
Once again the 7am Nap saved the day! The 7am Nap together with my vitamins and a shower pretty much turns me from zombie to a normal awake business person. The rest of the day was similar to day 1 and 2. I feel normal until about 9pm at which time I then get very tired and have to fight till 11pm.
So I figure once it starts getting better I will incorporate regular heavy weight workouts and my regular supplements back in (check Diet for more info). I want to test how well my muscle recovery will work in this new sleep environment.