Cheat Weekend

I’m taking my thursday morning weigh-in last week as my official weekly weigh-in.  I took friday off, and basically cheated from thursday night to saturday night.  I reported a 3.4lb gain.  I also switched up my eating plan a lot.  I’m not used to fruit and bread being back in the rotation.  It will be interesting to see what next week shows.

Week 4: 163.8lbs / 16.8 BF%
Week 3: 160.4lbs / 16.7 BF%
Week 2: 162.0lbs / 16.6 BF%
Week 1: 160.2lbs / 15.9 BF%
Week 0: 160.2lbs / 16.1 BF%

And I worked out tonight:

Set 1
Pullover: 35lb dumbell x 12reps
Yates bent row: 60lb bar x 12reps
Flat bench dumbell flys (alternate for pec-deck): 27.5lb dumbells x 12 reps
Reverse curls: 22.5lb dumbells x 10reps
Assisted Pull-ups: 4     Negative Pull-ups: 4

Set 2
Pullover: 35lb dumbell x 12reps
Yates bent row: 60lb bar x 8reps
Flat bench dumbell flys (alternate for pec-deck): 27.5lb dumbells x 12 reps
Reverse curls: 22.5lb dumbells x 10reps
Assisted Pull-ups: 4     Negative Pull-ups: 3
Elevated push-ups: 14

H.I.

New meal plan

I did some scoping around and found Mike Mahler’s vegan diet.  I have read about him before while reading vegetarian athlete stuff.  Here’s a link to his sample diet:  http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/mahler53.htm

I’ve introduced daily fruit for the first time in several months.  Also, having bread again on a weekday feels weird.  But I need a shake up and I’m hoping this is it.  I’ll give it a trial run of 3 or 4 weeks and gauge my progress.

Here’s what Mike Mahler’s vegan meal plan looks like:

Breakfast:

3 tablespoons of Rice Protein Powder (nutribiotic brand) with 8oz of almond
Milk and 8oz of soy milk. I add ½ cup of frozen mango or strawberries to
The mix and one tablespoon of coconut oil.
I also add in two teaspoons of Vitamineral Green (Similar Products)

Mid Afternoon Snack:
½ cup of almonds and ½ cup of raisins

Late Afternoon Snack:
Two Veggie burgers with olive oil
Some Sprouted Bread (“Ezekial” or “Man’s Bread”)

Post Workout Shake:
3 scoops of Rice Protein Powder with 8oz of oat or rice milk.
I throw in 1 tablespoons of flaxseed oil and ½ cup of frozen fruit.

Dinner:
Mixed Green Salad with 1 tablespoon of olive oil or one avocado.
One cup of lentils steamed with squash, carrots, tomatoes, mushrooms, and some tofu.
One tablespoon of olive oil is added to the mix.
One cup of quinoa
A pear or apple
Some Dark chocolate for dessert and some ginger cookies
Glass of red wine

Late Night Snack:
Peanut butter or almond butter sandwich and a cup of berries

H.I.

Modified workout

I’ve got a new diet, which I will save for tomorrow’s post.

Today I’m in a rush, so I did a modified workout.  I only did the upper body exercises, but I did 2 sets.  Here’s how it looked.

Set 1
Pullover: 35lb dumbell x 12reps [up 5 lbs]
Yates bent row: 60lb bar x 12reps [up 20 lbs]
Squats (alternate for leg presses): skipped
Flat bench dumbell flys (alternate for pec-deck): 25lb dumbells x 12 reps [up 2.5lbs]
Weighted dips: skipped
Single leg curls: skipped
Reverse curls: 20lb dumbells x 12reps [same]
Seated calf raises: skipped
Manual neck resistance: skipped
Crunches (alternate for machine crunches): skipped
Assisted Pull-ups: 4     Negative Pull-ups: 4 [up 1]

Set 2
Pullover: 35lb dumbell x 12reps
Yates bent row: 60lb bar x 9reps
Flat bench dumbell flys (alternate for pec-deck): 25lb dumbells x 12 reps
Reverse curls: 20lb dumbells x 12reps
Assisted Pull-ups: 4     Negative Pull-ups: 4
Elevated push-ups: 19 [down 1]

H.I.

Phase 3: Week 3 Results

I lost 1.6lbs.  I’m only up 0.2 lbs in 3 weeks.  Very disappointed.  My measurements haven’t changed, my BF% is actually creeping out, and I’m out about $100 a week on protein powder and bars.  I’ve been consuming 150g of protein a day for 135lbs of lean muscle mass, over a gram a pound.

I have been working out every 3rd day.

How does someone eliminate 5 hours of cardio a week, introduce over 600 calories a day, add strength training, and lose weight?

Obviously my slow carb diet, plus protein supplements, is not working.  I don’t wanna be ripped, I just wanna gain some healthy weight.  I need to rework my meal plan, which is what my wife has been begging me to do since she’s totally bored and depressed with our meals.  For me, I didn’t care when they were repetitive and boring, IF I was getting desired results.  But I’m not.

Here’s the stupid numbers:

Week 3: 160.4lbs / 16.7 BF%
Week 2: 162.0lbs / 16.6 BF%
Week 1: 160.2lbs / 15.9 BF%
Week 0: 160.2lbs / 16.1 BF%

It’s cheat day, so I’m going to go abuse my body.  See you in a couple of days.

H.I.

Mid week update

My updates are getting further apart.  At the beginning of my journey there was something to post or comment on almost everyday as I learned.  Well, I feel a bit in auto-pilot now.

This morning I did a mid-week weigh-in.  I’m up 0.2 lbs.  As you know, my current goal is weight gain, so this does not bode well for this week.  I have 16 weeks of data saying I typically drop 2 or 3 lbs from wednesday to saturday.  Mind you, that was in my fat loss stage.  Since then, I’ve eliminated over 5 hours of cycling a week, and I’ve introduced about 620 calories a day (82g of that is protein).  I’ve also started working out 2 times a week using Tim Ferriss’ geek to freak workout.  I’m not looking for crazy gained, I’d be happy to eek out a lb a week until christmas.  We’ll see how it goes.

Halloween just passed, I’ve seen comments on numerous weight loss pages.  I don’t have kids so it’s less of an issue for me.  On the weekend I won tickets to an improv comedy show for monday, so we drew the blinds, shut off the lights and headed to the theatre for the evening.  This allowed me to avoid the onslaught of candy around.  However, the actors lined up at the doors to hand out candy as we left, I felt bad turning them all down, but I did compliment them on their show.  Besides, I was wearing a luchador mask, so they’ll never see me again, LOL.

I just worked out, here’s how it went:
Pullover: 30lb dumbell x 12reps [up 5 lbs]
Yates bent row: 60lb bar x 12reps [up 20 lbs]
Squats (alternate for leg presses): 60lb bar x 12reps [same]
Flat bench dumbell flys (alternate for pec-deck): 22.5lb dumbells x 12 reps [up 2.5lbs]
Weighted dips: (40lbs of weights in a backpack worn on my front) 12 reps [up 5 lbs]
Single leg curls: (I used a band for resistance) 12reps each leg [same]
Reverse curls: 20lb dumbells x 12reps [up 2.5 lbs]
Seated calf raises: (rested 60lb bar across legs) 12 reps [same]
Manual neck resistance: 12reps front/back/right/left [same]
Crunches (alternate for machine crunches): 12reps [same]
Assisted Pull-ups: 4     Negative Pull-ups: 3 [same]
Elevated push-ups: 20 [down 2]

I’m seeing some progress here, which is nice to see.  As long as something changes, my weight, my body fat % or my workout, I’ll be pleased.

H.I.

Phase 3: Week 2 Results

I gained 1.8 lbs!  I switched from doing exercises only using my body weight to doing workouts with weights.  Today I bought more weights from a guy on kijiji.  I have a lot more plates, and got a bar and a bench that inclines.

My body fat scale told me I put on some muscle, so that’s good news, although I don’t trust it’s accuracy, it will report major trends.  After 4 weeks it should give a good idea of what’s happening.

Week 2: 162.0lbs
Week 1: 160.2lbs
Week 0: 160.2lbs

Edit:
Just did my workout for the day:
Pullover: 25lb dumbell x 12reps
Yates bent row: 40lb bar x 12reps
Squats (alternate for leg presses): 60lb bar x 12reps
Flat bench dumbell flys (alternate for pec-deck): 20lb dumbells x 12 reps
Weighted dips: (I put 35lbs of weights in a backpack and wore it backwords) 12 reps
Single leg curls: (I used a band for resistance) 12reps each leg
Reverse curls: 17.5lb dumbells x 12reps
Seated calf raises: (rested 40lb bar across legs) 12 reps
Manual neck resistance: 12reps front/back/right/left
Crunches (alternate for machine crunches): 12reps
Assisted Pull-ups: 4     Negative Pull-ups: 3
Elevated push-ups: 22

It’ll take a few workouts to find what weight I should be using.  I’d like to exhaust between 10 and 12.  Some of these need more weight, I’ll add more on Wednesday or Thursday and see how things go.

H.I.

Music

Okay, so my fellow 4HBer NewJohn has been doing a music series of songs that motivate him.  Many hit a chord with me (pun intended) as I listened to much of it.  So I’ve decided to share a few songs that have helped me keep motivated.

Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue – Ramones

The Ramones literally got me through school.  Although my grades were great, socially it was a nightmare at times.  Joey taught me it was okay to not fit in.

The Prisoner – D.O.A.

Unlike NewJohn, I saw few of my favourite bands live, either because they were old and gone, or because I grew up in Northern Ontario.  However, I have seen D.O.A. many times and have met Joey Shithead on more than one occasion.  Canadian punk legends.

Surfin’ on Heroin – The Forgotten Rebels

Another classic Canadian punk band.

Nihilism – Rancid

Kind of my guilty pleasure, I know they are over exposed, but so what, I love this album.

These bands are the reason I learned to play power chords and start a punk band that played a dozen gigs or so over the course of a year or two when I was about 19.  Fun stuff.

H.I.

Quick Update

Well, after my last workout I actually felt sore for the next 2 days.  At least one sign that I’m now working out hard enough.  That was monday night, I did the same workout tonight.
Here’s how it went down.

Pullover: 20lb dumbell x 12reps
Yates bent row: 15lb dumbells x 12reps
Squats (alternate for leg presses): holding 15lb dumbells x 12reps
Flat bench dumbell flys (alternate for pec-deck): 15lb dumbells x 12 reps
Weighted dips: (I put 30lbs of weights in a backpack and wore it backwords) 12 reps
Single leg curls: (I used a band for resistance) 12reps each leg
Reverse curls: 15lb dumbells x 12reps
Seated calf raises: (rested 15lbs dumbells on each leg) 12 reps
Manual neck resistance: 12reps front/back/right/left
Crunches (alternate for machine crunches): 12reps
I added 3 assisted Pull-ups and 3 negative Pull-ups.
Elevated push-ups: 18

My weight it holding up so far this week, the next 2 days will be interesting to see if I get a gain!

H.I.

Geek to Freak

I lost over 25 lbs in four months following the advice from Tim Ferriss’ The 4-Hour Body.  Now, after a week of trying body weight resistance exercises and seeing no weight gain I decided to rethink things.  So I figured I’d consult Tim again for my next phase, muscle gain.

The basics are: 1 set to failure, 5/5 cadence (5 secs up, 5 secs down), 80-120 seconds sustained for each exercise.  Here’s how it went.  I have limited weights at my disposal at the moment.

Pullover: 20lb dumbell x 12reps
Yates bent row: 15lb dumbells x 12reps
Squats (alternate for leg presses): holding 15lb dumbells x 12reps
Flat bench dumbell flys (alternate for pec-deck): 15lb dumbells x 12 reps
Weighted dips: (I put 30lbs of weights in a backpack and wore it backwords) 12 reps
Single leg curls: (I used a band for resistance) 12reps each leg
Reverse curls: 15lb dumbells x 12reps
Seated calf raises: (rested 15lbs dumbells on each leg) 12 reps
Manual neck resistance: 12reps front/back/right/left
Crunches (alternate for machine crunches): 12reps

Then I did elevated push-ups for fun with my feet on the second step of a staircase and managed to do 16 (much more challenging than standard push-ups).

Followed it with a Vega protein shake.

I need more weights since only a couple of these exercises were actually done to failure.  The others I just stopped at 12.

I hope I hurt tomorrow.

H.I.

Phase 3: Week 1 Results

Phase 3 of my body recomposition is to gain muscle.

The plan is to use just my body weight (because I have no equipment and not interested in the gym yet) and diet to put some meat on my bones.

This week I worked out 3 times (sunday, tuesday, thursday).  The work-outs consisted of push-ups, sit-ups, dips, squats and pull-ups (I didn’t do pull-ups on thursday because I did my workout at my friends house who doesn’t have a bar).

I’ve been striving for 160g of protein daily (1g for each 1lb of total body mass).  I’ve been hitting between 150 and 170g a day, which is good.  I continued to eat slow carb, and simply introduced a protein shake right after work, and with supper, or after a workout on workout days.  I also added a protein bar to my lunch.

So, at the end of week 1, there was no difference in weight.  160.2 the last 2 weigh-ins.

I might continue with this plan another week.  If I don’t gain, I’ll have to rethink some things.

H.I.