Second week...

Done with the second week of the new routine. I'm getting more used to it. Some changes have been made. I'll talk a bit about those below. Overall, I'm pretty happy with the way things are going, and realize that this is a whole different level of commitment to the gym - being there twice a day and spending, more or less, 3+ hours per day actively working out.

It's been two weeks and I've lost 10 pounds.

I did take the opportunity yesterday to have my body fat tested by a full-body hydro-immersion method done by GetDunked. My understanding is that with the possible exception of testing by air displacement (which requires a lab and even more specific and calibrated equipment), that immersion is the most accurate way to test body composition. TrainerDave™ had used calipers to test my body fat when we started working out, and I think the results were somewhere around 18%-19%. I thought that wasn't too bad for a starting point. TrainerDave™ was off by just a bit. The result from the dunking? 24.5%

Je suis trés unhappy avec ça. Still, Aeron, the guy who did my test, assured me that the situation was not as bad as I had hoped and pulled me away from the dunk tank where I planned to then drown myself. He said that he does this kind of testing all day, every day, and that the common tables of target BF% aren't wholly accurate. Most male athletes in my age range, he said, are between 16% and 24% (but usually at the lower end of that scale). Going below into the low teens is where it gets into the bodybuilder look. (Aeron also made me feel better by telling me that the first time TrainerDave™ got his body fat tested, he was about 10% over where he thought he would be.)

The report that came with the dunk (and I'm supposed to get a more thorough one in my email inbox, though that has yet to arrive) gave the following as my "hydrostatic evaluation":

HYDROSTATIC EVALUATION

Body Fat %	24.5%	Fat Body Mass	54.0 lbs.
Lean Body Mass %	75.5%	Lean Body Mass	166.2 lbs.
Ideal Body Fat %	15.0%	Weight for Ideal	195.5 lbs.
Goal Body Fat %	3.0%	Weight for Goal	171.4 lbs.

HYDROSTATIC TEST DATA

Gender	Male	Age	36 years
Height	69.75 in.	Weight	220.3 lbs.
Ankle Circumference	9.00 in.	Resting Pulse	70 bpm
Water Temperature	34ºC	Water Weight	6520 grams

METABOLIC INFORMATION

Your Activity Level	Over 12 hours per week
Maximum Exercising Pulse	166 bpm
Daily Caloric Intake to Maintain Weight	3965 calories

All very interesting. Apparently the final report will have more detail and instead of giving results as absolute numbers, it will display ranges with standard deviations and variances. Being a stats nerd, I think I like that better.

As far as the changes to the workout and diet go, I had a talk with TrainerDave™ on Wednesday at our second session. A week and a half had passed since our first workout together, mostly because there was no meeting on Memorial Day, and the week before that he was prepping for a contest in Los Angeles. (He came in 2nd in the welterweight division, by the way.) I mentioned that the breakfast, shakes, and dinner weren't a problem and I was sticking to those just fine; however, carrying my lunch and having it be so repetitive was killing me. Since IBM Almaden has a huge cafeteria, there is plenty of selection. On top of that, lunch is a social event at IBM, and carrying my lunch means that I miss out on it. People in my group think I'm a bit strange for carrying lunch and staying so strict. (And...really...there's only so much you can do with chicken, sweet potato, and broccoli when you have to carry it around all day.) TrainerDave™ said that as long as I don't go nuts and eat a pile of fries every day, it doesn't much matter what I eat at lunch, since I'll be burning all of it off anyway with working out in the morning and evening. So, a big salad with a chicken breast and fat-free dressing will be just fine. He even said that I could have pasta if it's on the menu. This is good news and makes me feel like I can live like a bit of a normal person, especially at work.

I also mentioned that I felt like getting up that early to work out, and going so late...that I wasn't getting enough sleep to maintain this kind of activity level. We re-tooled the schedule (and more importantly, re-spaced out the eating) so that I could get more sleep. I think that's going to work out well. I've also started keeping a more reasonable schedule at work. I'm only being paid for 40 hours a week, so I'm not doing what I did for the first two weeks and putting in 55-60 hours. I get there around 8:15 and leave around 4:45. That seems to work much better and I get home at a reasonable hour. So, the new schedule is:

• 08:00am - Breakfast


• 10:30am - EAS Triple-protein shake


• 01:00pm - Lunch


• 03:30pm - EAS Triple-protein shake


• 06:30pm - Post-workout AST VP2 whey protein isolate shake


• 08:30pm - Dinner

The other change is that I'm really liking the cardio, so I've upped it. Before, I was doing 45 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the evening after I lift. I've raised both of those to be an hour apiece. Right now, according to the monitor on the elliptical machine, I'm burning around 850-900 calories per cardio session. That's 1700-1800 calories per day from running. If one pound of fat requires burning 2800 calories, then I should be shedding around 3.75 calories per week just from the cardio.

Okay...time to wrap this entry up. I'll leave off with the numbers from this past week. I start cycle three today, since I took my off day in the middle of the week.

Day 1: Chest and Triceps (5/25/2008)

• High cable cross: 70 x 20|20|20|20


• Incline iso press: 120 x 15, 140 x 15|10


• Flat DB press: 50 x 15|15|15


• Dips: 4|5|5


• Push-ups: 15|15|15


• Lateral raise (DB): 15 x 20|20, 20 x 20


• Tricep pushdown: 100 x 20, 120 x 15|12


• Front shoulder raise: 50 x 20|20|20

Day 2: Back, Delts, & Biceps (5/27/2008)

• Pullups: 28(assist) x 9|6|6|5


• BB row: 205 x 12|12|12|8


• Pulldowns: 90 x 15, 105 x 12|12|10


• Cable rows: 100 x 15, 120 x 15|15|15


• Reverse pec deck: 70 x 14|11|12


• Shrugs: 180 x 20|20|20


• High cable curl: 60 x 20, 75 x 20|20|20

Day 3: Legs (5/28/2008)

• Lying leg curl (SS): 50 x 20, 62.5 x 20, 75 x 15|15


• Leg extension (SS): 6 plates x 20, 7 plates x 20|15|15


• Leg press: 360 x 20|20|20|20|20


• Walking lunges: 20(L/R) x 12|12|12

Day 4: Upper chest & shoulders (5/29/2008)

• High incline iso press: 160 x 15|15|15|7


• Military press: 140 x 15|15|15|13


• Side DB raises: 20 x 20|20|20|20


• Front raises: 60 x 20|20|20|20


• Rear delt rows: 105 x 20|20|20|20


• Upright cable pulls: 80 x 20|20|20|20


• Shrugs: 180 x 20|20|20|20

Day 5: Biceps & Triceps (5/31/2008)

• French curls (SS1): 70 x 15|15|15|15


• Skullcrushers (SS1): 80 x 15|15|15|10


• Tricep pushdowns (SS2): 100 x 15|15|15


• Alternating DB curls (SS2): 25 x 15|15|15


• Preacher curl (SS3): 50 x 10, 40 x 10, 30 x 20|15


• Overhead tricep extension (SS3): 100 x 20, 110 x 20, 120 x 14|20


• Back dip (SS4): Bodyweight x 20|20


• Concentration curls (SS4): 20 x 20|20

After the first week...

I haven't been posting as much lately, mostly because between work at IBM and this new crazy gym schedule, I haven't had the time or the energy to do continual blogging of this experience. That's not to say that I don't want the information up there. I absolutely do.

I think, though, that since the workout regime is exactly the same every week, I'll post the whole week in one shot. I need to make some comments about what I think of this new style of training.

Oh, and I ended up not hiring Mark as a trainer. Too flaky. He kept canceling appointments at the last minute, and that just wasn't working. So, I ended up going with a guy named Dave Patellaro. Good guy, who will hence be known as TrainerDave™. (He also goes by his trainer persona, Mr. Impact, but I just can't bring myself to call him that. A little bit of me dies inside each time I see that at the end of a text message.)

The diet...is killer. That is turning out to be my biggest challenge.

The workouts...well....here's the past week.
Oh, and each day also includes 45 minutes of cardio in the morning, and 30 more minutes of cardio after lifting.

Day 1: Chest and Triceps (5/19/2008)

• High cable cross: 70 x 15|15|12|10


• Incline bench: 135 x 12|8|6


• Flat DB press: 60 x 4|6|5


• Dips: 3|3|4


• Push-ups: 15|8|6


• Lateral raise (DB): 15 x 20|20|15


• Front lift: 40 x 20|15|15

Day 2: Back, Delts, & Biceps (5/20/2008)

• Pullups: 0 x 3, 100 x 10, 90 x 6|4


• BB row: 135 x 12|12|12|8


• Pulldowns: 90 x 10, 105 x 8, 90 x 10|10


• Cable rows: 100 x 15|12|15|15


• Reverse pec deck: 70 x 10, 50 x 15|15|15


• Shrugs: 180 x 18|15, 90 x 20|20


• High cable curl: 45 x 20, 60 x 15|20, 75 x 18

Day 3: Legs (5/21/2008)

• Squats: 135 x 15, 205 x 15, 225 x 10


• Leg curl: 135 x 20|20|20|20


• Leg extension: 60 x 20|20|20|20


• Stiff leg deadlift: 115 x 15|15|15|15


• Standing calf raises (SS): 100 x 30|30|30|30


• Seated calf raises (SS): 50 x 30|30|30|30

Day 4: Upper chest & shoulders (5/22/2008)

• High incline BB press: 90 x 15|15|15|15


• Military press: 90 x 15|15|15|15


• Side DB raises: 15 x 20|20|20|20


• Front raises: 40 x 20|20|20|20


• Rear delt rows: 90 x 20|20|20|20


• Upright cable pulls: 40|50|60|70 x 20


• Shrugs: 140 x 15|15|15|15

Day 5: Biceps & Triceps (5/23/2008)

• French curls (SS1): 60 x 15|15|15|15


• Skullcrushers (SS1): 70 x 15|15|15|15


• Tricep pushdowns (SS2): 80|90|100 x 15


• Alternating DB curls (SS2): 30 x 15|15|15


• Preacher curl (SS3): 50 x 20, 40 x 15|8


• Overhead tricep extension (SS3): 100 x 20|20|20|20


• Back dip (SS4): Bodyweight x 19|16


• Concentration curls (SS4): 30 x 16|8

Day 6: OFF

And that's the 6-day cycle that will keep repeating. I need to ask TrainerDave™ whether I can relax the diet on the days off just a bit. I really do think that having some real food once per week will help maintain my sanity and push me to keep on track during the workout days.

Cardio/Abs

The HIIT wasn't so bad tonight. I didn't want to die, though I won't say that it was pleasant yet.

At any rate. Tonight...

• HIIT
  • 5 minutes warm up
  • 10 cycles of 45s max / 75s recovery
  • 5 minutes cool-down


• Straight-leg Captain's chair: 10 x 3


• Machine crunches: 55 x 15 x 3


• Just too tired to do Roman Chair - time to call it quits tonight.

Cardio/Abs

I wanted to die by the time I was done. This interval training is going to either be killer good, or kill me flat out. I did twice as many interval iterations tonight and went for a full half hour. Oh. My. God.

At any rate. Tonight...

• HIIT
  • 5 minutes warm up
  • 10 cycles of 30s max / 90s recovery
  • 5 minutes cool-down


• Straight-leg Captain's chair: 10 x 3


• Roman chair: 45 x 12 x 3


• Machine crunches: 55 x 15 x 3

Cardio/Abs

I've decided to take a different approach to my cardio training in order to burn more fat. I've been reading a number of books that espouse the benefits of High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). HIIT claims that while the workout itself primarily burns carbohydrates instead of fat, the technique is far superior in elevating metabolism and keeps fat burning far longer. Enough sources have claimed this, so I'll give it a fair shake. Plus, running for an hour at the same speed three times per week just gets boring. The plan I'm trying comes from Building the Perfect Beast...Naturally. I tried it out tonight and will be modifying slightly, adding more cycles. I'll still be doing cardio three times per week. Two will be HIIT for five minutes of warm up, twenty minutes of two-minute cycles, and five minutes of cool-down. The third day will be 40 minutes of low-medium intensity running. In addition to this, I'll be adding abdominal work for these days. The Pilates I've been doing are targeted toward the deep "core" abdominal muscles. The gym abdominal work will target the more superficial muscles. No...the irony is not lost on my that I'm working the superficial muscles for superficial reasons.

At any rate...here is tonight's workout.

• HIIT
  • 5 minutes warm up
  • 5 cycles of 30s max / 90s recovery
  • 5 minutes cool-down
  
  
• Machine crunches: 55 x 15 x 3 : 30 x 10


• Roman chair: 45 x 12 x 3


• Straight-leg Captain's chair: 10 x 2

Cardio/Pilates

Probably the best cardio day I've had in a long time. Without feeling like I was killing myself, today on the elliptical was:

65 minutes / 8.60 miles
note, for all cardio references, this is 60 minutes of focused cardio and 5 minutes of cool down that the elliptical program tacks on the end.

One of the measures I've taken as a general indicator of cardiovascular health is how quickly my heart rate can return to a relatively normal rate after exertion. Occasionally, I will stop for 60 seconds while running (usually at the 30 and 45 minute marks) to see how fast it will fall. In both cases today, it came down from approximately 154bpm to 116bpm in 60 seconds. That seems not too bad.

Another addition that I'm going to try with regularity is Pilates. The woman that I see for rolfing (which I recommend for everyone...seriously) is a seasoned Pilates instructor and introduced me to it. There seem to be an overwhelming number of books and DVDs on Pilates on the market. A trip to Amazon.com and searching on "Pilates" turns up 27,287 books and 757 DVDs. I decided to start with something that isn't too trendy and went with Classical Pilates Technique - The Complete Mat Workout Series. This is the mat workout taught by people who studied and trained directly under Joseph Pilates, the creator of the system. I like the DVD, and although the routines are relatively short in duration and move quickly, I think that it's likely the duration and intensity that Pilates intended. Most advanced strength athletes swear that you don't have to work out for HOURS in order to get the best results. I'm going to try Pilates in the mornings for a while to see how things go. I'm probably not going to list them on every day, but will comment when I move up a level, or if I learn something of note.

Cardio

Not much to report tonight. I started keeping track of what I eat. It's not so bad.

I took my buddy Xavier to the gym tonight. Good run.

65 minutes. 7.44 miles.

That is all. Off to bed.

Chest/Shoulders

Good day yesterday. Hard day today. I think that celebrating New Years Eve was the culprit for making today difficult. I didn't drink, but the combination of not sleeping a lot and eating pizza (which was burning a hole through my chest an hour later) put me in a bad spot today.

At any rate, here's the details for yesterday (December 31, 2007) and today (January 1, 2008)

*For future reference, (F) denotes freeweights and (M) denotes a machine

Monday, December 31, 2007 - Chest/Shoulders

Elliptical	7:31 / 1.0 miles
Decline bench (F)	135 x 10 : 205 x 10 : 225 x 5
Low dumbell flat press (F)	60 x 10 : 60 x 10 : 60 x 5
Seated dumbell shoulder press (F)	25 x 20 : 30 x 20 : 30 x 12
Seated incline dumbell press 45º (F)	45 x 10 : 45 x 10 : 45 x 10
Shoulder press (M)	50 x 10 : 60 x 10 : 65 x 6
Lateral raise (M)	50 x 10 : 60 x 10 : 65 x 10

Tuesday, January 1, 2008 - Cardio

Eh...I didn't go. Between getting over the major upset stomach and the lack of sleep, I decided that it would be better to not stress out my body, eat a little and be gentle to my stomach, and try to put my sleep cycle back on track. (Thank you, melatonin.)