IMO, knowing your own body is the key to everything. I started up 2 a days again b/c I biked up the mtn after taking 1 week off and my legs did not have their same "pop" that I'm used to having. This tells me I have not been training correctly and need to attack that weakness.
Oh, now today was fun: -biked up the long slowly rising incline to town..thighs were cooking..soon enough I add the summit/another 1/2 mile up hill -lifted the last two days, could not understand why my arms were shaking making a ham sammy.. Back on the grind, the Holidays and weather effected me to much, time to pay it back. And those just starting out, keep in mind this started 3 days ago with just bike commuting, and weight training was added in as it rolled along. I cannot stress how important it is to have your mind/body connection start out at a level you can handle, THEN adding more when your mind/body combination tells you that "well that is great but..need more". When you start out ultra fast the mind/body goes to war, the mind wants instant results, the body breaks down, and the couch and remote looks far more enjoyable.
I love that last line. So true. I've purposely decided to just eat right for now. If I make it to the gym great, but I don't want to start something crazy and then loose all hope and motivation when I miss the gym one day. I eat about 1700 or less calories a day. I've been able to eat anything too, just watching my calories. Had pizza yesterday, pizza today (for lunch) and chipotle for dinner.
I'm doing my 2nd round of Body Beast now. I do all my workouts at home. I finished up Insanity:Asylum Vol.1 on x-mas day and gave myself a couple days rest before jumping back into this. I'm eating between 3700-4000 calories a day. 2.5 weeks in and so far so good.
Checkout www.myfitnesspal.com it has an app for android/iphone too so you can use the barcode scanner. I've been using it to keep track of the calories I eat as well as going to the gym. I've lost 5 pounds so far. I'm not fat, just trying to get rid of my gut.
MFP is the best..I use it to make sure I'm hitting my macros and getting near my calorie goal for the day. If anyone cares to see what my daily intake looks like..here ya go: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/diary/coachnatep It's probably too boring for most, but hey, it gets me the results I'm looking for...
heh..I guess I'm "lucky". I have a hell of a time gaining weight. My last round of Body Beast I was at 3500 cals/day and only gained like 3 lbs on the scale (9 lbs of muscle though). That turned into more of a re-composition than bulk. Now I'm upping it to see if it helps. I do measure myself weekly though to make sure I'm not packing on too much.
Agree about the benefits of MFP. I'm trying to stay under 1900 calories. I gradually lose weight at those numbers and generally can fit in most things I love to eat (except chicken wings). The reason it works so well is when you make yourself accountable for every calorie you eat, you stop eating those extra calories that you don't even realize you were eating. The extra handful of chips, the basket of bread at dinner, the baked goods your coworker brings in, etc. etc. Once piece of advice I'd mention to anyone who wants to use it, and I think I mentioned this in last year's thread is don't eat your exercise calories. Too hard to accurately measure calories burned and you'll end up busting your diet. Rather than eating your exercise calories, just give yourself a few extra calories to eat if you exercise regularly. I did this by adjusting my settings to "lightly active" even though most of my days are "sedentary".
Yesterday was my last Build:Shoulders routine for about 6 weeks. Bulk:Shoulders has more "heavy" shoulder movements, so it will be a nice change. Check out youtube for the "Sagi Six Way" shoulder move. It doesn't look like much, but holy hell it's murder. If you can do that with more than 10 or 12 pounds, then good for you.
Down to 205 after the holidays had me up around 211. Trend arrow is pointing downwards and I'm ahead of where I was last yr at this time, heading into the summer I weighed 209. This is one of the reasons why Imo using a spreadsheet to track your weight over time is so useful..it gives one context. Bike commuting in the rain is brutal, 70 dip pushups is also brutal, but utlimately worth it.
Hmm, I rarely count calories, as in never. What I do is have a gut instinct for "healthy/unhealthy", I can eat a pizza for example but it would be cheese/spinach/pepperoni then eat very little the next couple of days.
There is an ebb and flow to life, same with consumption. If I have say, 4 slices of meat pizza, the next morning it will be a english muffin and coffee, soup for lunch and something like refried beans for dinner, or about 1000 calories or so, this balances the previous day's 2500 or so.
I don't doubt you at all Padre. There are absolutely people who can lose weight without counting calories, and even rarer people like yourself that can go on a binge and atone the next day. I'm just saying for the average American, myself included, that doesn't work. If I go on a binge one day, it usually ends in a one week eat bender that leaves me fatter than ever. Myself, I'm a purposeful roller coaster dieter. I enjoy food, and I enjoy periods of time where I don't worry about what I eat. When I get to a certain point, I count calories to get down to my comfortable weight. Repeat. I know it's not healthy and as I get older I'm going to have to develop more consistently healthy eating habits.
I am still doing crossfit. I have been doing it since the end of march. I did take two months off when my uncle died. I am in much better shape and I am still having fun with it. This month I decided to do the whole9 whole30 challenge. That means no sugar, grains, legumes, dairy and vegetable oils. I did slip up one day and had a piece of cake. I have been on it for 17 days. I am finding that I am not a sore since I started.
Feel you, I enjoy cooking, and food, but the times when I splurge is for things I cannot make myself. And even that is rare, post college life and low $$$$ means Refried Bean dip? Yes please Beef roast with garlic mashed potatoes and fresh bread? Uhm, have forgotten what that tastes like! At this point a Mr P's with spinach and extra cheese is as close to lush living I'm getting close to, but even then it basically is flat bread with spinach and a small handful of cheese which is not over the top in terms of calories.
Crossfit looks like a blast, but it's so hard for me to break away from home to go do it...I guess that's why I've spent the last 2 years working out in the basement. The 9-30 has a lot of foods that are high in omega 3's and other anti-inflammatories. It's a great way to detox yourself. Yesterday was a rest day for me. It's hard for me to have a rest day, because I always feel like I should be doing something, but, muscles grow and rebuild at rest. I did get on my foam roller and massage out some knots in my hammies and triceps..felt like a million bucks after that.
Body Beast - Build: Chest & Triceps done yesterday afternoon. Last go around for that routine in this block. I think this one is probably my favorite of the Build routines. I'll see it again in about 5 weeks. Today is leg day...legs always kills me.
I had finished crossfit/ bootcamp some time ago. Now i am going to semiprivate workouts with a trainer. 90 day program 4/5 times a week. Body Toning, Food Journaling, Certainly it is challenging. Starting week 3 this week.
No kidding, switched bikes from a 10 pd old school ten speed back to a beach cruiser type that weight 22 pds..my God my legs feel as if they were beaten with baseball bats.
Do Jefferson squats if you want to lose the ability to walk for the next 3 days. They don't look like much but beware.
I, as usual, am doing a variation of Dorian Yates' HIT(high intensity training) loosely based off Mentzer. I use a bit more volume and rest time tho. Eating 6-8 times a day tho, organic chicken, wild caught salmon, brown rice and greens. Supping in post workout, and b4 bed shakes too. Vitamins. THAT is what is making all the difference. Big time influx of strength and energy.
That is something I've never done, I've heard it is all the rage atm, but for me just knowing my body I actually eat very little and when I do, it is mostly a mix of protein/fiber/carbs. What I've found is that inner drive is what keeps me moving..when going well I eat maybe 3 times per day, and usually not very much.
Some eat that way to keep their metabolism running hot. I eat that way to pump in nutrients as often as possible without wasting/over doing. 6oz chick breast and a cup or less of rice is not a lot of grub. But packs a lot of nutrition. The hard part is simply the prep.
For me though, I'd toss in spinach or broccoli as well as maybe pickled jalapenos. That would add fiber and a metabolism boost from the spices.
Def. I take green goodness supplement. And eat broccoli and spinach. Make an effort to try to get those all in. Fiber is not to be under valued!!!
Among other reasons, for example Broccoli has sulfur like compounds, Jalapenos have vinegar from the pickling process as well as Vit A, both help with maintaining a healthy PH and imo, make food more interesting taste and texture wise.
It dawned on me today why it is a good idea to start working out now, rather than when the weather reaches spring like. Local forecast mentioned "sunset was at 5:39", iirc we gain two minutes of sunshine per day until the Summer Equinox Two months from now in late March, the sun will be out until 7:30ish, inow the time when it is nice to hang outside with your friends or GF. 60 days is plenty of time to get into nearly Summer shape, and outside of the sun belt all there really is to do is..not much at all. I'd rather life/bike now and make use of this time than really grind on that stuff in the summer, seems a better idea to be ready before then.
Back on the wagon after a week off due to the flu. That thing really knocked me on my ***. So it was Day 29, Bulk: Chest, again. It felt good to push weights around again. I got through the workout just fine, but I could definitely tell there was some weakness due to being sick.
Day 30: Bulk Legs done yesterday. I was struggling with this one today. Definitely felt the "flu hangover". I lowered the weights on several of the exercises and had to pause frequently. I'm sure I'll get back to normal soon, but it's frustrating knowing what I'm capable of compared to what I had to end up doing.
Bulk: Shoulders done yesterday and I did my measurements this morning. I think I hit the sweet spot with my muscle gain calorie intake. 2800 a day this week put me up 0.5 lbs, which is just about as much muscle as you can gain per week while not gaining any fat. Went lighter on the weights again to focus on form (chest up, shoulders back on lots of these moves) and I could barely lift my arms to hang up my weightlifting gloves when done. Good times. How is everyone else doing?
This the value of keeping track of one's weight via a spreadsheet: Weighed myself today, 203.6, which in and of itself is meaningless However when I look at my records from this time last yr, I weighed 212 pds, so over the course of the year I've maintained that level of weight loss as my average comes in right around 202 pds for 2012.
I'm down 11 pounds since I started watching my calories and going to the gym 5 days a week. I'm starting this routine today, minus the AM cardio. http://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/24-doug---s-5-day-high-definition-routine.html
Bulk: Chest done today. Once again the name of the game was lower the weights a bit, focus on form, tempo, and pace. My chest was so worn out I thought I was going to faceplant while doing the decline pushups. I fatigued the muscles so much more this time, it felt great. I heard this from a weight lifting buddy of mine, and over the last week I've found it to be 100% true; it's now my new mantra - "Train your muscles, not your ego."