June workouts thus far...

I have been SO bad at updating this blog with my workouts. That, however, does NOT mean that I haven't been in the gym. Well...I haven't this past week, but that's due to tonsillitis, fever, and my general philosophy that the gym is no place for me when my body is demanding energy to get better.

So, what's been happening? After the first three weeks of the workout and diet, I was noticing that I couldn't get up in the morning as well (and that I don't get nearly enough sleep), and that my muscles weren't repairing as quickly as I thought they should be. Also, the hour of running after each lifting session was simply too long, and I wasn't getting home in time to make dinner, repack for the next day, and have a moment for anything else.

So, I talked with TrainerDave™ about making some changes, primarily to the eating regimen. I did the math, and came to the conclusion that I was eating far too little. I was taking in roughly 1500 calories per day. Now, if I needed 3965 per day to maintain my weight (as seen in the last entry from the hydrostatic analysis), and my goal is to lose 4 pounds per week, I should be taking in roughly 2400 calories per day. Missing 900 calories per day is a LOT! So, we re-tooled the diet, and things started going much better after that.

I'm not weighing that much less on the scale; however everyone around me says that my face is much slimmer. I've also gone down four or five holes on my belt - to the point that I'm going to need a new belt soon. (WOOHOO!)

So, here's the list of workouts for the first half of June. As mentioned before, there will be a gap between June 14 and June 22, when I was sick and recovering. I'll start back to the full regimen on Monday morning at the beginning of a workout cycle.

Here are the numbers:

Chest and Triceps (6/1/2008)

• NO WORKOUT TODAY

Back and Biceps (6/2/2008)

• Assisted pullups: 16 (plates) x 15, 12 x 15|15


• BB row: 135 x 15|15, 155 x 10, 175 x 10


• Neutral pulldowns: 105 x 15, 120 x 10|10


• Cable rows: 100 x 15|12|15


• Reverse pec deck: 50 x 15|15|15


• Incline DB curl: 30_L/R x 15, 25 x 5+5, 20 x 10


• Machine preacher curl: 40 x 20|19|20

Legs (6/3/2008)

• Lying leg curl¹: 75 x 20|20|20|20


• Leg extension¹: 7 plates x 20|20|20|20


• Leg press: 440 x 25|25|25|25


• Walking lunges: 25_L/R x 12|12|12

Upper chest and shoulders (6/4/2008)

• High incline BB press: 135 x 15, 155 x 10|9|8


• Incline DB fly: 25 x 12, 30 x 12|12


• Military DB press: 40 x 12|10|9|8


• Shoulder Hammer™ machine: 50 x 15, 70 x 15, 90 x 15


• Upright BB rows¹: 55 x 15, 75 x 15|10


• Standing lateral DB raise¹: 15 x 15|15|15


• Front raise 4s: 10 x 2

Biceps and triceps (6/5/2008)

• French curls¹: 75 x 15|15|15|14


• Skullcrushers¹: 70 x 15|15|15|15


• Tricep pushdowns²: 110 x 20, 120 x 20, 130 x 14


• Alternating DB curls²: 20 x 20, 25 x 15|15


• Machine preacher curl³: 50 x 20, 60 x 20|16


• Overhead tricep extension³: 120 x 20|20, 130 x 15


• High curls: 75 x 20, 90 x 15|15
  
• Back dip⁴: Bodyweight x 20|20


• Concentration curls⁴: 20 x 20|20

Day off (6/6/2008)

Chest and Triceps (6/7/2008)

• High cable cross: 50 x 15, 70 x 15, 80 x 15


• Incline ISO press: 140 x 15|15|12


• Flat DB press: 50 x 15|15|15


• Assisted dips: 6 plates x 9|10|9


• Pushups¹: 15|15|15


• Lateral DB raise¹: 20 x 20|20|20


• Tricep pushdowns²: 120 x 20|20|15


• Front raise²: 60 x 20|20|20


• Pec deck: 70 x 20|15|15

Back and Biceps (6/8/2008)

• Assisted pullups: 12 plates x 15|15|10


• BB row: 175 x 15|15|15|15


• Neutral pulldowns: 100 x 15, 115 x 15|15


• Cable rows: 100 x 20|15|20


• Reverse pec deck: 50 x 20|20|20


• Incline DB curl: 20_L/R x 20|20|20


• Machine preacher curl: 50 x 20|20|10

Legs (6/9/2008)

• NO WORKOUT TODAY

Upper chest and shoulders (6/10/2008)

• ISO incline press: 160 x 15|15|15|15


• Incline DB fly: 30 x 15|15|15|15


• Military DB press: 40 x 12|12|12|12


• Shoulder Hammer™ machine: 110 x 15|15|15


• Upright BB rows¹: 75 x 15|15|15


• Standing lateral DB raise¹: 15 x 15|15|15


• Front raise 4s: 10 x 1, 12 x 1

Biceps and triceps (6/11/2008)

• Alternating DB curl¹: 30 x 15, 35 x 15|15


• Tricep pushdowns¹: 80 x 15, 120 x 15|15


• French curl²: 50 x 15|15|15


• Decline skullcrusher³: 60 x 15|15|15


• 1-arm standing preacher curl³: 20 x 15|15|15


• Behind head DB tricep extension³: 60 x 15|15|15


• Strive bicep curl machine: (1|5|9)[7|7|7], (9|5|1)[7|7|7], (5)[20]


• Back dip⁴: Bodyweight x 20|20|20

Chest and Triceps (6/12/2008)

• High cable cross: 80 x 20, 90 x 15|15|15


• Incline ISO press: 140 x 15, 150 x 15|15


• Flat DB press: 55 x 15|12|15


• Assisted dips: 6 plates x 15, 5 plates x 12|15


• Pushups¹: 15|15|15


• Lateral DB raise¹: 20 x 20|20|20


• Tricep pushdowns²: 120 x 20|20|20


• Front raise²: 70 x 20|20|20


• Pec deck: 50 x 20|20|10

Back and Biceps (6/13/2008)

• Assisted pullups: 12 plates x 15|12|10


• BB row: 185 x 15|15|15|15


• Neutral pulldowns: 110 x 15|15|15


• Cable rows: 120 x 20|20|15


• Reverse pec deck: 50 x 20|20|20


• Incline DB curl: 25_L/R x 15|15|15


• Machine preacher curl: 40 x 20, 50 x 20|20

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.

Like™, Ugh....California arrival

I'm finally, like™, in California. This is, if you didn't already know, the land of militant body fascism. It's difficult not to think about body type here, since clothing is far more scarce, and everyone seems to be focused on physical appearance. (I know that everyone is, everywhere. It just seems so unapologetic here.)

I haven't worked out since leaving Ann Arbor, and the week of driving across the country takes a toll on the body. I've been aching in places I've never ached before. Most notably, I think that holding my back in a strange position for so long put strain on some of the musculature surrounding my larynx and in the general scalene region. It took a while to get over, assisted by plenty of anti-inflammatory OTCs. I love Motrin IB.

I need to find a new rolfer...and fast.

Yesterday, I sought out and joined the Gold's Gym that is closest to my current living situation in South San Jose. For anyone interested, it's at 121 Bernal Road, San Jose. My god, this place is massive. It's like Six Flags Great American Gold's Gym Adventure. It is funny, though, and says a bit about the culture and clientèle, that they have more equipment than an entire Olympic village, but no sauna, hot tub, or even private showers.

Oh...and the people working out are, on average, much larger than the people at the Gold's in Ann Arbor. This is a hard-core place.

Since I want to make some major changes over the summer, I decided to bite the bullet and hire a trainer for my time out here. I haven't trained with anyone since Mike Stack in the summer of 2003, so it's about time. I've mostly been following a loose powerlifting regimen, looking to increase strength. Over the summer, I'd like to transition more to a bodybuilding style of working out, and learn from someone experienced how to work on definition and a leaner body.

When I signed up at the gym, the woman behind the counter showed me a book of the trainers associated with the gym. Unlike the Gold's at home, where the trainers are employees of the gym itself, all of the SSJ trainers are independents. I was told that they never recommend any one trainer over another, but the nice woman flipped to a particular page and said, "Of course, I'm showing no favoritism, but given what you want to achieve, this is the trainer for you." Huge guy, current competitive bodybuilder, former San Francisco 49ers player. Sounds like a deal. His name is Mark, and we'll see how this turns out. We've played phone tag a bit, and chatted for a moment. Turns out he is prepping for a bodybuilding show in three weeks, and might not be able to start training until after that. I don't think I can wait that long to start anything at all. I suggested that we meet and talk about what I'm looking for, and if he can't meet for three weeks, just tell me what he'd like me to be doing and focusing on for that time to prepare for two solid months of kick-ass and grueling work. I haven't heard back from him on that yet.

I feel like the last two weeks, workout-wise, have just been completely lost. There's nothing I can do about it, though, so I'll keep the lamentation short. When I start at IBM next week, I think my life will fall into a much more manageable routine.

I have found some bike trails around my place, including one that follows the reservoirs from south to downtown San Jose. I'll definitely be exploring that, as soon as I find the right sunscreen for my shiny, bald head.

That's pretty much it for now. I hope the workouts with trainer Mark come about. He seems ideally suited to my summer goals.

More to come on the great California adventure.

Chest

Of course, trying something new. I've been reading Building the Perfect Beast...Naturally by Author L. Rea and Eric R. Broser. It looks like a good, steroid-free but effective and intense program. The first part of the process, though, is to find out the one repetition maximum (1RM) for each of the major muscle groups. This is done by choosing a weight that you can lift 10 times or less in a reasonably isolated exercise. There are several regression models that will calculate your 1RM based on the weight and reps. To see what kind of variance in calculation techniques are out there, the Online 1RM Calculator is maintained by a French powerlifting group and documents at least 24 different calculation systems (all drawn from exercise and physiology literature, so we can assume that they are at least more resembling of science than religion.)

After calculating the 1RM for each muscle group, you can then go back to that muscle group and see how many times you can lift 85% of your 1RM until fatigue. The number of repetitions (within a range) will indicate the dominant muscle fiber type in that muscle group. Knowing this allows you to set appropriate weight and reps-to-failure goals in creating routines. Since the goal is to take the muscles to failure, and the greatest gains are achieved by microtearing the greatest number of fibers, it makes sense to choose the combinations that will hit the dominant fiber type.

Instead of including them in the daily workout lists, I'll save them up until we've gone through the list and made the calculations. Stay tuned!

Today's numbers:

Monday, February 18, 2008 - Chest

Exercise	Cory	Matt
Decline bench (F)	175 x 10 : 185 x 10	155 x 10 : 135 x 10
Incline DB press - 45º (F)	60 x 10 x 2	50 x 10 x 2
Flat fly	35 x 10 x 2	30 x 14 : 30 x 13
Incline fly - 60º (F)	40 x 15 : 40 x 10	30 x 15 : 30 x 13
Decline press (M)	180 x 12 x 2	180 x 11 : 180 x 9

To bulk or to cut? That is the question...

It comes as no surprise to anyone who has worked out (in any capacity) that there are three primary goals:

• Losing fat
• Building muscle
• Maintaining what you have

The first two, respectively, are cycles known to bodybuilders (BB) as "cutting" and "bulking".

So, I've been at a crossroads lately deciding in which direction I want to step up this journey. Thus far, it's mostly been focusing just on getting in to shape and lifting some things. Now, it's time to try something new.

In both bulking and cutting, strict control of the diet is paramount, though in different ways for each phase. There are a number of sources, mostly written by physicians who work with bodybuilders, that suggest that diet and nutrition can put the body into a hyper-anabolic state. The effect is similar to using synthetic anabolic steroids, but arguably much healthier, and since the body is producing things naturally through its own processes, completely without the negative social stigma steroid use garners.

For the bulking, the body gains a significant amount of muscle mass over a relatively short time period. The unfortunate accompaniment to the muscle gain is that the body also packs on adipose tissue (fat). This is where the cutting comes in. Cutting, done right, takes off a LOT of fat and just a bit of the muscle. Most BBs engage in alternating 10-12 week periods of bulking and cutting, and after a while it just becomes part of the rhythm (usually scheduled around a cutting cycle leading up to a competition, for those that compete.)

But, where to start when starting out and approaching cycles for the first time? If I bulk, I'll probably pack on a LOT of weight (on top of what I already have). As vain as it sounds, I just bought new jeans, and want to be able to wear something besides sweat pants as I balloon up like Violet Beauregard, relentlessly chomping on her blueberry gum. If I cut first, I risk losing the muscle that I've built up to this point, and I don't know that I want to face that. I don't want to lose motivation (which I don't think will happen...but there could be disappointment.)

Another detail, and not an inconsequential one, is that I LOVE food. Not just like. Not just enjoy eating. I LOVE FOOD. Bulking, as I understand it, is a joyous and Bacchanalian experience (within reason) being able to eat a lot (at least 1 gram of proteinn for every pound of body weight over the day...2-3 grams if working really hard and using supplements that increase protein synthesis). Cutting, on the other hand, is 10-12 weeks of highly restricted intake, and being hungry and cranky ALL the time. Not fun. And even though constant fun isn't something I require, and I can sacrifice to achieve goals...maybe I want to have an enjoyable experience before I start something that difficult.

I think, in the end, the decision is coming down on the side of "to bulk". That will leave me in the cutting and fat loss during the summer, when I may want to go swimming or something. Better cranky and cut than perky and puffy.

So, the answer to the question, for now, is "to bulk". More details on the experience, doubtless, will follow.

Chest

Main thing to note about the workout tonight is that Matt pointed out that he thinks we're doing too much shoulder work on different days. We had discussed before that we would split shoulders over back and chest days, but it's crept into more of the workouts, and he's beginning to feel burned out on shoulders. I'm not to that burned point yet, but I'm probably not far behind. As a result, we're going to consolidate the shoulder work onto chest days. That will make for a bit longer workout, I think, since I don't want to cut back on chest work for the sake of shoulders. We'll see how it turns out in practice.

Tonight's numbers:

Monday, January 21, 2008 - Chest

Exercise	Cory	Matt
Decline bench (F)	155 x 10 x 2 : 185 x 10	155 x 10 x 2 : 135 x 10
Incline DB press - 45º (F)	60 x 10 x 3	55 x 10 : 55 x 9 : 55 x 5
Flat flyes	30 x 10 x 2 : 35 x 10	30 x 12 : 27.5 x 10 : 30 x 10
Decline press (M)	180 x 12 x 3	180 x 10 x 2 : 140 x 6
Incline flyes - 60º (F)	35 x 12 x 3	35 x 10 x 2

Back

Today's back workout comes a day earlier than normal, due to tickets to the Detroit Auto Show tomorrow. One thing that we learned is that the day between arms and back is critical, since our arm fatigue is getting in the way of doing some of the back work (most noticeably the pull-ups). We had been ditching the deadlifting since it was a compound move that didn't seem to engage what we were wanting, but Matt says that he's missing it, so moving forward, we'll do some very light deadlifting as a warm-up set at the beginning. We didn't like doing the set of DB shrugs aimed at the middle back - too awkward and didn't seem to be hitting anything useful. We'll take those out in the future and replace them with the tried-and-true bent-over barbell rows.

Without further ado, today's numbers:

Saturday, January 19, 2008 - Back

Exercise	Cory	Matt
Wide assisted pull-up (M)	60 x 10 : 90 x 10 x 2	90 x 10 x 2 : 105 x 9
Close assisted pull-up (M)	105 x 10 x 3	105 x 10 x 3
Shoulder press (M)	90 x 10 x 2 : 50 x 10	50 x 12 x 3
Lateral raise (M)	90 x 10 x 2 : 50 x 10	50 x 10 x 3
Bent-over DB row (F)	60 x 10 : 100 x 10 x 2	45 x 12 x 2 : 50 x 10
Middle back DB shrug (F)	80 x 10	80 x 10
Rack shrug (F)	180 x 15 x 3	180 x 10 x 3

Legs

How exciting. Finally, a leg day that at the end felt like it was an accomplishment. Much more focus on glutes, and I'm anticipating some difficulty walking over the next day or two. Most exercises put me at or close to failure on the last rep, which tells me I'm sensing the right range for weights and reps.

I need to start thinking and planning around exercises and weights that will stimulate Type IIa, IIb, and IIc muscle fibers. As we get to the middle of the 12-week cycle, I'll start introducing that more.

Lifts for tonight...

Wednesday, January 16, 2008 - Legs

Exercise	Cory	Matt
Leg extension (M)	80 x 10 x 3 (single leg)	170 x 10 x 3
Standing hamstring curl (M)	100 x 10 x 2 : 100 x 8	100 x 10 x 3
Glute kickbacks (M)	30 x 10 x 3	30 x 10 x 3
Leg Press** (F)	440 x 10 x 3	440 x 10 x 3
Calf extension (M)	250 x 10 x 3	250 x 20 x 2 : 250 x 24 x 2
Hip abduction (M)	210 x 12 x 3	290 x 15 x 2
Hip adduction (M)	210 x 12 x 3	290 x 15 x 2

** For the leg press, we dropped the weight far below our normal numbers, and took the lifts very slow, and all the way down through the entire range of motion, bringing the knees all the way to the chest. MUCH harder.

Back/Shoulders

Tonight was back night, and we were in and out quickly. After the workout, Matt and I sat down (having a shake...gotta have SOME reward) and talked about our upcoming goals. I'm putting together workouts for the next 12 weeks. Some of the more recent workout are leaving me...well...I'm not sore the next day or two, which says to me that I'm not working hard enough. So, we articulated the following as aspects we would like to incorporate into the new routine.

• Stick with four days per week: Chest/Shoulders, Legs, Arms,
  Back/Shoulders
• For each body part, two strength days and two mass-building days per month
• For legs: more work on glutes, less on calves, and stay intense
• For back: keep things relatively the same, since this workout is working well for both of us, but add the Roman chair to strengthen lower back
• My arm workout from last week was GREAT, so we'll stick with that
• Split shoulder work between back day and chest day
• Shorten rest times between lifts. Aim for 45-60 seconds (except for big leg lifts, which just take more recovery time.)
• Try adding in clean-and-jerk. I'm not convinced of this one, and am afraid of it. I can just see the bar flying up into my face and knocking out all of my teeth.

When I get something put together, I'll put it up here (though likely as a link to a file download.)

Tonight's numbers:

Sunday, January 13, 2008 - Back/Shoulders

Exercise	Cory	Matt
Wide pulldown (M)	120 X 12 X 3	120 x 10 x 3
Close pulldown (M)	100 x 12 x 3	120 x 10 x 3
Wide barbell row (F)	135 x 12 x 3	135 X 12 x 2 : 135 x 10
Close DB row (F)	45 x 12 : 50 x 12 : 55 x 12	45 x 10 x 3
Shrug rack (F)	180 x 12 : 270 x 12 : 360 x 10	180 x 13 : 180 x 10 : 270 x 10

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.

Legs, sort of...

Today was the first leg day back after the holidays, and the first leg day after an absence from the gym always involves pain and suffering (or is that fear and loathing? I doubt Kierkegaard hung out in the gym a lot, but you never know.)

Yes, there was pain. Matt (my lifting partner, who will be a regular co-star in my blog) abdicated first and smartly stopped. I wasn't so wise, and pushed on. After the first round of leg press, Matt mentioned that he was not feeling well (that familiar feeing of "If I hold still, maybe the nausea will pass."). He stopped after one light round of squats. I pressed on, but stopped after the third exercise. I held it together until I got to the locker room, but just had to succumb. I haven't lifted until I vomited for a LONG time. Typically, this can be a source of pride ("I lifted so hard I threw up!") among hard-core lifters. I didn't feel that swell of pride today.

I have a strong suspicion that sudden sickness was the result of poor nutritional planning today. I loathe keeping close track of what I eat, and I hate counting calories, but I think that for a while, I need to buck up and write everything down.

So, how many calories? I decided to do a Google search on "calculating caloric need" and chose several of the top results, each of which was a calculator specifically for adult needs. I used the same information for each calculator: Male, 35 years old, 5'10", 218 pounds, heavy activity (defined as approximately 1 hour of vigorous activity 5-7 days per week). Here are the results for my daily intake to maintain my current weight.

• About.com: 3527


• ahealthyme.com: 4045


• Baylor College of Medicine: 3494


• International Sports Science Association (ISSA): 3720


• American Cancer Society: 4955

Hmmmm....wide variation there. Some of the sites give actual formulae, but not all. There seems to be (surprise!) a lack of standardization here. I need to do some more exploring about the history and derivation of these systems of measurement.

For now, though, I think I'm going to go with the ISSA measurement, which is laid out clearly on the bodybuilding.com web site. The helpful part here is that it gives caloric breakdowns based on goals. Using my stats, I get:

• Maintaning weight
  
  
  
  • Protein: 163g/652Kcal
  
  
  • Carbohydrates: 628g/2510Kcal
  
  
  • Fat: 62g/558Kcal
  
  
  
  


• Building mass
  
  
  
  • Protein: 196g/784Kcal
  
  
  • Carbohydrates: 595g/2378Kcal
  
  
  • Fat: 62g/558Kcal
  
  
  
  


• Losing weight
  
  
  
  • Protein: 218g/872Kcal
  
  
  • Carbohydrates: 573g/2290Kcal
  
  
  • Fat: 62g/558Kcal
  
  
  
  

I'll go for losing some weight first, and then adding muscle mass when I get to a happy point.

Enough of that. Here's what I did for leg day today. Remember, this was cut short by the vomiting. Grrrr.....

Wednesday, January 2, 2008 - Legs

Elliptical	8:03 / 1.0 miles
Linear leg press (F)	530 x 10 : 620 x 10 : 710 x 10
Squat (M)	160 x 10 : 220 x 10 : 260 x 10
Calf extension (M)	350 x 15 : 365 x 15 : 365 x 15