Monday, July 30, 2007

Reading the manual (carefully)!

Over the last couple of months, after having started my new workout program, here are my latest thoughts. These are based on the New Rules of Lifting as mentioned in previous entries.

 

I went through the prep phase and Fat Loss I; effectively finishing this part of the training July 29, 2007. I have become stronger. I know this because I track my progress. I use “The Ultimate Workout Log” by Suzanne Schlosberg. I can record all the different workouts in there, from running on the mill, weight training, sleep habits, nutrition notes, etc.

 

When I started the Fat Loss I phase, doing squats and dead lifts, I gave myself some room to grow. The first set of squats, were done with 2x45lbs plates plus the bar for a total of 135lbs. Doing 3 sets of 15 went pretty well. As I increased the weight and did same amount of sets but less reps it became clear that these workouts were a lot tougher than expected. When I finished the last workout in the program I was at 265lbs squats 3 sets of 8 (my modification). Dead lifts were increased in similar fashion. By the time I the last workout dead lifts were at 235lbs. for 3 sets of 10 reps each.

 

While doing all of these, someone at the gym kindly made me aware that my Romanian Dead Lift was not correct. I have been doing this for quite a while so my initial thought was…well I’m doing it according to the book, what could be wrong? I humbly checked the illustrations and checked the text. Lo and behold, all these years (five to be exact), I have been doing it wrong!

 

This revelation, prompted me to examine the workout descriptions further. Guess what, I was not doing those in the proper order either. No wonder I was completely exhausted by the time I finished each individual workout. I was supposed to do supersets, in other words do one set of squats jump immediately (with some rest), to the next exercise, go back to the squat and so on.

 

Oh boy! I guess the moral of the story is: when all else fails, read the manual (carefully)!

 

This is my recovery week. So I’ll be playing hoops and doing some light work to completely get over all this madness. Onward!

 

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Lifting weights and the kitchen.

Lately there has been an update on the benefits of weight lifting. Anaerobic exercising has also been in the limelight. While aerobic activities still have their place, maximizing time in our busy society has become paramount (average time for most Marathoners 3-5 hours plus 6 month to a year of training). This tip is typical of what you find these days: http://v.mercola.com/blogs/public_blog/Simple-Inexpensive-Exercise-Tip-25641.aspx

 

So back to my weight lifting and sprinting I go.

 

Now eating clean or avoiding the typical drive a Mercedes stop at McDonald’s syndrome requires some time. It actually balances out; you spend less time working out but more time in the kitchen. It does save you money in the long run. The trouble is that it could hurt your relationships (well it’s a special case). Let me explain.

 

This morning, in preparation for my hard weight lifting workout, I went to the kitchen. I prepared myself my favorite oat meal concoction. Almonds, raw milk, whey, half a banana, some extra fiber, powder cinnamon; it was good. Mind you that finding all these ingredients while half asleep creates quite a commotion (one demerit). 

 

I next proceeded to make my smoothie so I could have it before the workout and at lunch. All ingredients are the best I could get, really, really good stuff. Again, I used raw milk, and then came the mangos, papaya, all kinds of berries, almond butter and whey.  Using my blender I went to work on my smoothie (two demerits). Do you realize how noisy a blender is early in the morning while everyone is still asleep? Oh boy!  

 

So I’m smoothing (blender going full blast), all of sudden the blender just seemed to stop. I could hear the motor revving but there was no blending going on. So I wanted to see what was going on.  I took part of the cover off to observe. I figured I hit the liquefy button to give it some help. That’s when some of my smoothie ingredients exploded into the air, hit the top cabinet, my tee short and of course my hair and the counter (three demerits).

 

The mess got cleaned up, well or so I think.  I did as best as I could, but something tells me I must have missed a spot. I might be getting a call from my wife about this issue. Hmm, I think I better call some of my friends to see if they have an extra room for tonight. This smoothie better be worth it. I’m going to work really hard during my workout, so even if I have to sleep on the floor, I won’t care cause weight lifting is … for the mot part good for you!

 

 

Sunday, July 01, 2007

Full speed ahead!

Last Friday (June 29th, 2007), I did my third workout on the Fat Loss I program I’ve started. It royally kicked my own derrière. I don’t know what the temperature was but if felt hot. My energy level was low and I really had to psyche myself up to get the workout done (ok, really did not finish it as you'll see).

Before I proceed, this is what was involved:

  • Three (3x15)sets of Dead Lifts (145lbs).
  • Push ups (3x15) set Body Weight (this one is particularly difficult. My shoulder injury limits my range so I do it only if does not hurt.
  • Romanian Lunges (split lunge, one leg on the bench) Basically this is more body weight. I started with two 25lbs plates. It immediately became apparent that I was not going to finish 3x15s with this. I had previously done 20lbs but not this time. I did one set with 25bls and the other two sets with 10lbs.
  • Chin ups (3x15) sets body weight. Did 8 chin-ups and went to bent rows (don’t have a lat machine so this was good enough).
  • Romanian Dead Lifts (3x15) sets (140 lbs.) I completed this without a problem.
    I was supposed to do some swiss ball crunches last. The easiest part, but I was so absolutely beaten by this time, I just went and had a smoothie.

    I slept like a baby (that’s a misnomer, babies wake up a lot), ok like a log. Maybe that’s better.

    This past Saturday (June 30th, 2007), my niece got married. I was the photographer for the wedding and felt pretty good. The only thing was that I think I did the equivalent of a half marathon in the heat. I began shooting (photos) at around 11:30am and finished at around 5:30pm. I was exhausted. The heat got to me again. My Achilles heel also gave me some trouble but after relaxing again I slept like a err…log.

    Today it’s my meeting for spiritual food, spend time with family and friends. I feel good so I’ll make time to do my next workout later today. It will be great! Onward!

    P.S. My weight keeps fluctuating (226, 228, 226). One thing is for sure. I am stronger, I’m doing more reps with more weight and my clothing is a little looser.