a Break...

It has been 3 weeks since I restarted my gym routine and it has been going very well. Unfortunately, I am going to have a take a 2 week forced break because my gym has closed done for renovations :(.

That really sucks. I might just need to do some light cardio in the mean time. Hopefully, it will have new and better equipment for more possible weight exercises.

I'll be back in 2 weeks and will continue the workout for another 3 weeks before I restart my Insanity (2) in August.

Day 19 (post Insanity): Shoulders & Triceps

The shoulder and tricep workout routine is another simple routine. It only involves 3 exercises each for a total of 6 exercises of 4 sets each. Friday workouts go by pretty quickly and they are also very rewarding because you can feel the pump right away :D.

Here is a clip of how to do a military barbell shoulder press. At the moment I am doing 17.5 lbs on each side and hoping to get up to 25 lbs one day.


Overall, I had a very good Friday workout and I even added a small calve workout kind of to test some calve exercises for next week.

That's it for now. Whatever you are doing, keep pushing.

Day 18 (post Insanity): Back

Today I was pretty energetic at the gym. Could it be that I am eating better? Possibly, but I also think that it is also because I am sleeping better. These past few days I am already kind of awake before my alarm goes off - hopefully because I had enough sleep and not because I am stressing out about something else.

At the gym I worked my back and my abs. Back workout days are usually pretty short and sweet so don't over do it and make sure you get your ab workout in 2-3 times a week. They are still muscles and even though they are not showing because you are not below 10% body fat, they still need to be worked out for when you do get lower body fat to show them off.

The bent over barbell row is my favorite. Here is how to do it from MaximuscleUk:


Also, throughout the day I still felt my legs a little sore. It was that pleasurable pain you get after a good workout. I was also thinking about my skinny calves and might change change my calf workout a little after some research.

Day 16 (post Insanity): Legs

Yes, today was my most dreaded workout - LEGS! It is just a very tiring workout and at the end of the workout I was sweating more than the usual. The exercise that takes up the most energy is definitely the squat exercise. It uses the largest muscle group in your legs and requires a big range of motion. After doing squats my heart is definitely pounding and 60 seconds rest between reps does not seem enough for me at times.

This is a clip from Scott Herman on how to do Squats. I use the machine as I don't have the proper tools to use a free standing barbell.


This is my updated workout routine:

Tuesday - Legs
Hamstrings
Exercise	Sets	Reps
Stiff-Leg Deadlifts	4	8
One-Leg Leg Curls	4	8
Quads
Exercise	Sets	Reps
Squats	4	10
Leg Presses	4	8
Leg Extension	4	8
Calves
Exercise	Sets	Reps
Standing Calf Raise	4	15,12,10,8 (with a 30 lb dumbell)

Day 14 (post Insanity): Chest and Biceps

I can't believe I have been on the weight lifting for 2 weeks already - well, it is actually more like 4 weeks but the first 2 weeks were not real workouts as I wasn't on track.

Today was Chest and Bicep days. As usual, I did a 4-5 minute jog for warm-up and a 5 minute stretch. After that I went to the bench press and did 4 sets for 8 reps. Then I moved on to my incline exercises and also did 4 sets!

On my biceps workout I did 4 sets on the barbell curl but only 3 on the other 2 exercises as I felt I had a really good workout and was really pushing my muscles.

I haven't really noticed any change with my body so I am really hoping I am doing my workouts properly. I am also going to change my lunch meals but will still have about 500 calories with about 30 grams of protein. It should be posted sometime this week in an updated meal plan post.

Days 9-12 (post Insanity)

I totally forgot to update my blog entries regarding my workouts.

Day 9: Legs
Day10: Outdoor / Light cardio
Day 11: Back
Day 12: Shoulders and Triceps

These days have been great. As of now I still feel some muscle soreness from Day 9's workout which really means I pushed it. For all of my sets, I increased it to 4 from 3 for at least 50% of the exercises. It actually isn't that bad since I am pushing myself more.

After today's workout I took a look at myself at the mirror and I was totally pumped! Ofcourse, that was because it was right after my workout but I do think my body is changing. Being strict with the eating regime and workout is pretty hard but I WILL do it for at least another 6 weeks.

I have 2 more weeks and then I will be taking a week off and then continuing on for 4 more weeks.

Hydrostatic Testing - Body Fat Testing RESULTS

As I mentioned in my previous post, I did my first Hydrostatic Test this morning. It was great as it showed my hard work had actually paid off. I also made a mistake and I fasted for 8 hours - maybe it wasn't a mistake actually but I should keep this in mind the next time I do the test in order to keep the constants the same.

Results:
Body Fat: 15.7% (ideal for men my age is 15%)
Lean Body Mass: 84.3%
Maximum Exercising Pulse: 168 bpm
Daily Caloric Intake to Maintain Weight: 2711.5 calories
Weight: 159.5 lbs

Results Interpretation
I am pretty happy that my body fat % was at 15%. I did a test a while ago with electrodes and it tested about 19% but that was like 5 years ago and I know I had more fat. I was actually hoping to have less fat but this gives me a better idea of my body.

Now, the weight shown says 159.5 lbs. I am not sure this scale is accurate - a lot of scales give me different readings. I went back to weigh myself at the gym with my gym clothes and meals in my stomach and I weighed about 165 lbs give or take. Would my clothes and food make up for 6 lbs of weight? I don't really care actually as now I am focusing more on how I look and feel than on my weight as well as on my percent body fat.

I also did some research online and it seems like once I reach 10% body fat I should be able to see my six-pack!

http://www.ironmagazine.com/article12.html
http://www.diet-blog.com/05/six_pack_abs_reality_check.php

Day 8 (post Insanity): Chest and Triceps

Summary: Increase in Sets


I had my hydrostatic test done early this morning which lead to my increase in motivation on today's workout. In addition to that it is one of my favorite workouts - the chest and bicep workout.

This workout routine for chest and biceps is great because you can feel it working out our muscles instantly. However, I was pumped and not feeling it as much as I should so I ended up challenging myself. I firstly increased my bench press by 10 lbs (total) which really did make a difference. I also increased the sets to 4 on all of my chest exercises. Which brings me to my next point

Workout modification: I am going to modify the workout such that for the first half (usually first 3 exercises), I will increase the sets to 4. An addition of sets will help me keep myself challenge and it is still within the muscle building range which is usually 3-5 sets of 8-12 reps.

Tip: Once you can complete 12 reps without a problem it means it is time to add some more weight

Keep pushing.

Hydrostatic Testing - Body Fat Testing

I'll be getting my hydrostatic testing done this week. I have never done this before but hopefully the numbers are good.

More info:
http://www.getdunked.com/home/default.asp

Days 6 & 7 (Post Insanity)

My Day 6 usually consists of going out and doing some outdoor sports or cardio. I actually was outdoor playing ball for over 3 hours so I would say I had a pretty good cardio workout althought it is not as intense as any Insanity workout, it was a long workout which is probably equally as good. To keep myself fueled I had a couple of Cliff bars (approx. 250 calories with 10 grams of protein each).

Cliff bars are great. They taste kind of like the protein bars I used to make at home. I am not sure if they changed their recipes recently but I first tried the Cliff bar about 2 years ago and I felt they were horrible. I can't recall exactly what it was - maybe I felt they were too sweet. It was a totally different experience this time around, they were completely exquisite and satisfying. I'll definitely be getting more of these whenever I need some sort of meal replacement / snack on days out.

Day 7 was today. I was actually pretty bored and technically it is supposed to be my rest day. However, since I had time in my hands and felt kind of restless, I took a walk around the park for about 40 minutes and slow jogged for about 20 more minutes. It was a good and easy way to relax and get my heart rate up just a tiny bit. I must say that jogging feels like a breeze now after completing BeachBody Insanity. But, it is still tough keeping your concentration. All I could think of was "this is so boring - darn it, stop thinking about it and just jog."

Days 4 & 5 (Post Insanity)

Day 3 was a rest / cardio day.

Day 4 and 5 were pretty good. I kept up with the same motivation and really pushed myself to lifting more and making sure I was not being too lazy.

I think the problem with weight lifting is that I don't have a buddy to spot me or to make sure I am pushing myself. Typically, for muscle gain, you want to make sure you struggle on your last 1 or 2 reps on each set. Without a buddy, I tend to go easy and just complete my 8 reps without going further. But this will not happen anymore - I will keep pushing.

Bring it!

I came across this youtube video for a pretty good recipe for a tasty protein sandwich from HardBodySuccess:

Day 2 (post Insanity): Legs

Leg workouts are my least favorite because I feel week afterwards. I also feel like they just drain your energy out by the end of the workout.

Regardless, today I gave it 90% because I am still motivated from yesterday. Why do I say 90%? Because I know I could have done a little more weights at the squats but I wanted to play safe as it is a lot of weight to drop!


Tomorrow will be my outdoor sports day - more like a rest day :D.

Day 1 (Post Insanity):

This is totally frustrating. I feel that I am having a really hard time keeping up with my gym schedule. Last week I only worked out on Tuesday and the rest of the week I didn't. This is why I have decided to start with a clean slate and call today DAY 1!

Today I worked out my chest and bicep and had a great workout because my mind was in it. I had a bad day and was pretty much frustrated with my no-progress at the gym so I channeled my energy at the weights.

I also made sure I ate something healthy an hour before my workout so that I wouldn't be hungry. My next step will be to update my meal plan.

Also, I want to point out that I need to keep writing entries to this blog daily - even if no one is reading it, it helps me keep myself motivated.

The Plan:
- Complete 8-10 full weeks of weight lifting
- Do Round 2 of Insanity or Round 1 of P90x (TBD)
- Repeat

Day 14 (Post Insanity): Catching up

Last week I completed my 2nd week of weight lifting. The day count in my post titles are going to be off as I don't count weeks I take off but only weeks I follow my workout. Hopefully this doesn't act as a tricking agent for myself.

As I was saying, I completed my second week of workout last week. This included chest, bicep, legs, back, shoulders and tricep workouts. It also included outdoor sports on my cardio days.

This week my schedule is going to be a little messed up. Because of Memorial Day, I took a day off so I completed my "Monday" workout instead of my "Tuesday" workout. Also, on Thursday I won't have time to workout because of an event in the afternoon / evening. What do I do in these cases? Keep going with the workout without skipping any. I will also try to put some weight lifting into the weekend to try to re-balance the schedule is possible.

Have I seen any drastic changes to my body? Not really but I am certainly continuing my diet plan on weekdays.