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All right!
I have a whole new 7 week plan that I've put together for myself. This is serious, repetitive (possibly to the point of boring), provides me with a massive amount of protein - and exactly "what I think" is going to take me to my next level.
Starting tomorrow, April 12th (which is my 38th birthday!) through May 31st, I'm starting on a 7 week mission.
I am going to eat exactly the same foods every day, heavy lift on M/W/F, cardio & sprints on T/Th and rest on Sat. & Sun.
I've entered all my foods into FitDay and have come up with the following results:
Protein: 232g
Fat: 179g
Carbs: 6g
Cals: 2500
Fat: 63%
Protein: 36%
Carbs: 1%
My daily foods are:
1. 6 cage free organic eggs scrambled in 2T of organic ghee
2. 12oz. free range chicken breast sauteed in 2T of organic virgin coconut oil
GYM
3. 12oz. grass fed ground beef or steak
4. 12oz. free range chicken breast sauteed in 2T of organic virgin coconut oil
This will NOT change, nor will I be posting daily menus.
My workouts will remain on the same schedule with my 5X5 lifting program and by the end of the 7 weeks this will add a total of 52.5 lbs. to every one of my lifts.
My cardio and sprints will be out in the woods alternating between mtn. biking and hiking - rain or shine!
I will still continue to post on my workouts, how my day went and other assorted things that come to mind - but this is it. This should, without a doubt, bring me to a whole new fitness level and mindset. I will not be weighing myself again until the end of this 7 week mission... The morning of June 1st.
It will not be easy, but I'm well prepared and pumped!
Showing posts with label weight lifting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label weight lifting. Show all posts
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Friday, April 9, 2010
Working hard at upping my protein
I had a great workout tonight... up 5lbs. on all lifts and right on schedule! My body is absolutely beat to a bloody pulp at this point. This week has been, hands down, the toughest and most rigorous workout week I have ever done in my life. I am very much looking forward to resting the next couple of days. No weights, no sprints... nada - maybe a casual ride on my bike if I'm feeling up to it.
Workout B
Squats
Overhead Press
Deadlifts
Pull ups
Planks
Grub for the day:
1. 6 soft boiled cage free organic eggs with 2T melted ghee
2. 6 oz. grass fed burger patty and a salad with mixed organic veggies w/ evoo and fresh squeezed lemon juice
3. 3 scrambled cage free organic eggs cooked in 1T of ghee (pre workout)
Workout
4. 2 grass fed broiled lamb chops and a side of organic squash and wild mushrooms sauteed in ghee with some sea salt and fresh ground pepper
As always, a ton of water throughout the day.
So here I am, physically eating as much whole food as my body can handle while trying desperately to get my protein intake up to 200g per day. It's so hard to do with whole foods alone. My protein intake today was just under 150g. My body can't fit much more food. I'm going to try and do it slowly by adding an extra egg to my meals or an extra ounce or two of meat when I can. I think spreading my meals out further will help too. I am not going to reach the muscle gains I'm looking for if I can't get my protein up over at least 1g. per pound of body weight.
It's tough being a natural bodybuilder. Those guys who cheat and use performance enhancing drugs are doing serious damage to themselves in the years to come.
Workout B
Squats
Overhead Press
Deadlifts
Pull ups
Planks
Grub for the day:
1. 6 soft boiled cage free organic eggs with 2T melted ghee
2. 6 oz. grass fed burger patty and a salad with mixed organic veggies w/ evoo and fresh squeezed lemon juice
3. 3 scrambled cage free organic eggs cooked in 1T of ghee (pre workout)
Workout
4. 2 grass fed broiled lamb chops and a side of organic squash and wild mushrooms sauteed in ghee with some sea salt and fresh ground pepper
As always, a ton of water throughout the day.
So here I am, physically eating as much whole food as my body can handle while trying desperately to get my protein intake up to 200g per day. It's so hard to do with whole foods alone. My protein intake today was just under 150g. My body can't fit much more food. I'm going to try and do it slowly by adding an extra egg to my meals or an extra ounce or two of meat when I can. I think spreading my meals out further will help too. I am not going to reach the muscle gains I'm looking for if I can't get my protein up over at least 1g. per pound of body weight.
It's tough being a natural bodybuilder. Those guys who cheat and use performance enhancing drugs are doing serious damage to themselves in the years to come.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Old school is still the best!
As I get more involved in my lifting program (and lifting heavier weight), I've noticed the difference between the types of shoes I wear and what their purposes are. For my cardio and sprinting, the running sneakers I've been wearing fit the bill perfectly. However, these are not for lifting heavy weights! Especially when doing squats and deadlifts.
This is from the website of the lifting program I'm doing:
"Lifting shoes: Shoes with air or gel filling are compressible, impairing power transfer & stability. Wear shoes with hard soles. Chuck Taylor’s, weightlifting shoes, socks or barefoot are better than running shoes."
So... I went ahead and bought myself a pair of old school Converse Chuck Taylor's - Black, of course!
These things bring back some memories from various phases of my life. When I was a kid, in the 70's, that's all I wore - then in the later 80's - mid 90's, when I got into the Grateful Dead scene, I went back to the Chucks again - I still have that pair that I wore to all those shows (about 100 GD shows and a dozen or so Jerry Garcia Band shows) and they have many miles on them. They're beat to hell because I wore them for 6 or 7 years straight - from Boston to Florida and as far west as Chicago... and many other cities and venues in between. Unfortunately, I never had the chance to see the boys out on the west coast!
Now, here I am again, with a brand new pair in 2010, used for a more specific reason then the style or comfort (which they're really not all that comfortable for an every day shoe). Although, in my opinion, they still style in a simplistic, retro sort of way. Most importantly, they'll allow me to have the stability to lift heavier and not get injured!
When I reach the point of passing my body weight in squats as a full 5X5 set not just a one time max (which shouldn't be too far off in the distance!), I'm going to treat myself to a real pair of weightlifting shoes. Adidas makes a sweet pair called the Adistar Olympic Lifting Shoes. Only $199.00 but I'm worth every cent of it :D
This is from the website of the lifting program I'm doing:
"Lifting shoes: Shoes with air or gel filling are compressible, impairing power transfer & stability. Wear shoes with hard soles. Chuck Taylor’s, weightlifting shoes, socks or barefoot are better than running shoes."
So... I went ahead and bought myself a pair of old school Converse Chuck Taylor's - Black, of course!
These things bring back some memories from various phases of my life. When I was a kid, in the 70's, that's all I wore - then in the later 80's - mid 90's, when I got into the Grateful Dead scene, I went back to the Chucks again - I still have that pair that I wore to all those shows (about 100 GD shows and a dozen or so Jerry Garcia Band shows) and they have many miles on them. They're beat to hell because I wore them for 6 or 7 years straight - from Boston to Florida and as far west as Chicago... and many other cities and venues in between. Unfortunately, I never had the chance to see the boys out on the west coast!
Now, here I am again, with a brand new pair in 2010, used for a more specific reason then the style or comfort (which they're really not all that comfortable for an every day shoe). Although, in my opinion, they still style in a simplistic, retro sort of way. Most importantly, they'll allow me to have the stability to lift heavier and not get injured!
When I reach the point of passing my body weight in squats as a full 5X5 set not just a one time max (which shouldn't be too far off in the distance!), I'm going to treat myself to a real pair of weightlifting shoes. Adidas makes a sweet pair called the Adistar Olympic Lifting Shoes. Only $199.00 but I'm worth every cent of it :D
Monday, March 29, 2010
Back to the old neighborhood sweat shop!
Back in February, I made the grave mistake of joining Planet Fatness (I mean Fitness). Brand new place, a few minutes away, open 24 hrs. a day throughout the week, only $10 per month - seemed too go to be true. This place was the oddest gym I have ever stepped foot in. It's really a cardio dance hall more than a gym. First of all, if you get there anytime after 4pm, good luck finding any one of the 100+ cardio machines available to use. The place is packed! Mostly with college kids who dress like they're on their way to a club - hair done, makeup and all.
More importantly, let's get to the free weights area... Wait a minute! What free weights area? Sure they have all the different plate machines (which, I suppose, do serve their purpose - just not my purpose) - again, packed with the college guys struttin' their stuff to impress the girls.
The dumbbell rack stops at 80 lbs.; the fixed bars stop at 60 lbs.; they don't have a weight bench - nor do they have a real Olympic barbell. What!? What kind of place is this... how is a man supposed to get a real workout in a place like this. Well... you don't, nor do they want you to. They want to keep it a "family like atmosphere".
Check this out - they actually have something called a "Lunk alarm". Which means if you happen to grunt or make any type of noise while you're lifting - or god forbid drop or clank a weight... a siren goes off! If you don't believe me, google it - I do not lie!
But wait, there's more! One Friday of each month is pizza night and one Tuesday of each month is bagel Tuesdays. Who are these people kidding?
If you don't like it... go somewhere else - which I did. Adios Planet Fatness, I'm going back to the old standby - my original gym. It's small, it's clean, they have real equipment, an awesome staff and are never crowded. I am so glad to be back!
I did Workout A of my 5x5 today:
Squats 5x5
Bench Press 5x5
Inverted rows 3xF
Reverse Crunches 3x12
Push ups - 5 sets of mixed reps - totaling 48 perfect form, military style, push ups.
I don't think I mentioned this in a previous post but I'm now in week 2 of a 6 week program to complete 100 consecutive, perfect form, push ups. I'm gonna make it for sure by the end of the 6th week.
Needless to say, my chest is on fire right now!
I also added 10lbs. to the bar for each of my workouts to catch up from last week. I should be adding 5lbs. to the bar each time I work out, as per the program I'm doing, but Planet Fatness didn't even have 2.5lb. plates for their smith machine so I wound up having to stay at the same weight for the past two previous weeks - glad that's over with.
Awesome workout tonight!
More importantly, let's get to the free weights area... Wait a minute! What free weights area? Sure they have all the different plate machines (which, I suppose, do serve their purpose - just not my purpose) - again, packed with the college guys struttin' their stuff to impress the girls.
The dumbbell rack stops at 80 lbs.; the fixed bars stop at 60 lbs.; they don't have a weight bench - nor do they have a real Olympic barbell. What!? What kind of place is this... how is a man supposed to get a real workout in a place like this. Well... you don't, nor do they want you to. They want to keep it a "family like atmosphere".
Check this out - they actually have something called a "Lunk alarm". Which means if you happen to grunt or make any type of noise while you're lifting - or god forbid drop or clank a weight... a siren goes off! If you don't believe me, google it - I do not lie!
But wait, there's more! One Friday of each month is pizza night and one Tuesday of each month is bagel Tuesdays. Who are these people kidding?
If you don't like it... go somewhere else - which I did. Adios Planet Fatness, I'm going back to the old standby - my original gym. It's small, it's clean, they have real equipment, an awesome staff and are never crowded. I am so glad to be back!
I did Workout A of my 5x5 today:
Squats 5x5
Bench Press 5x5
Inverted rows 3xF
Reverse Crunches 3x12
Push ups - 5 sets of mixed reps - totaling 48 perfect form, military style, push ups.
I don't think I mentioned this in a previous post but I'm now in week 2 of a 6 week program to complete 100 consecutive, perfect form, push ups. I'm gonna make it for sure by the end of the 6th week.
Needless to say, my chest is on fire right now!
I also added 10lbs. to the bar for each of my workouts to catch up from last week. I should be adding 5lbs. to the bar each time I work out, as per the program I'm doing, but Planet Fatness didn't even have 2.5lb. plates for their smith machine so I wound up having to stay at the same weight for the past two previous weeks - glad that's over with.
Awesome workout tonight!
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Primal Protein Shake
I was experimenting with different ways to come up with a dairy free primal protein shake and wound up with this concoction... I gotta say, it's pretty darn good!
12 oz. filtered water
1/2 cup 100% egg white powder
1/4 tsp. organic almond extract
1 Tbsp. organic unrefined virgin coconut oil
Ice cubes
Simply mix it all up in a blender. The combination of almond and coconut make for a unique but pleasant taste. If you choose to add a sweetener, that's optional - but I don't use artificial sweeteners and either did cavemen :-) Believe me you won't miss it!
You can experiment with different extracts too. For example, if you used an orange extract (no worries, the oil in the extract is drawn from the rind and contains no fructose!) you'd have a nice tropical shake with the coconut and orange flavor.
32g protein
1.8g carbs (from the egg whites)
0g sugar
14g fat
270 cals - even though we know this is irrelevant ;-)
I'm going to have one of these before workouts because I'm trying to get my protein up to 200 grams per day and it's tough for me simply because I just can't physically eat that much food. However, between my eggs for breakfast and beef, chicken, pork or fish for lunch and dinner, I've got the rest covered.
12 oz. filtered water
1/2 cup 100% egg white powder
1/4 tsp. organic almond extract
1 Tbsp. organic unrefined virgin coconut oil
Ice cubes
Simply mix it all up in a blender. The combination of almond and coconut make for a unique but pleasant taste. If you choose to add a sweetener, that's optional - but I don't use artificial sweeteners and either did cavemen :-) Believe me you won't miss it!
You can experiment with different extracts too. For example, if you used an orange extract (no worries, the oil in the extract is drawn from the rind and contains no fructose!) you'd have a nice tropical shake with the coconut and orange flavor.
32g protein
1.8g carbs (from the egg whites)
0g sugar
14g fat
270 cals - even though we know this is irrelevant ;-)
I'm going to have one of these before workouts because I'm trying to get my protein up to 200 grams per day and it's tough for me simply because I just can't physically eat that much food. However, between my eggs for breakfast and beef, chicken, pork or fish for lunch and dinner, I've got the rest covered.
Friday, March 26, 2010
My Workouts
In the past I was trying all sorts of different methods of exercise - Isolated weightlifting, pyramid lifts, 4 day splits, high rep / light weight, no weights - just massive amounts of cardio, etc. The end result - sure I made some progress but nothing in comparison to what I've been up to lately!
As I mentioned in my last post, Primal exercise consists of mimicking the gathers & hunters of years past. Slow walking (or any type low intensity cardio), sprints and lifting heavy objects.
Now I'm not out in the woods with a spear hunting down animals and then carrying them over my shoulders back to camp for dinner... so how did I incorporate all this in to a modernized version that benefits me with strength building and getting leaner?
Two ways. For my heavy lifting, I'm doing StrongLift's 5x5 program which is absolutely killer! A massive core and mass building routine that requires heavy lifts and a shorter time spent in the gym. It's a win win situation! I do this on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. There are two workouts as part of this plan - Workout A and Workout B - which I alternate back and fourth each time I'm at the gym. I will explain what the workouts consist of in just a few. For my low intensity cardio and sprints, which I do 2 days out of the week (not on lifting days of course!) I switch things up with walking, cycling, or hiking. I go at least 1 hour at a moderate pace so I don't elevate my heart rate too high - I like to keep it right at around 120 bpm, which for my age and weight is right in the fat burn zone. For the sprints, this can be obviously done with any of the aforementioned exercises by incorporating a 20 second max push back to your moderate pace for ten seconds, then repeat. I do this at least 8-10 times over the course of my hour.
The StrongLift 5X5 Program
Workout A
Squat 5x5
Bench Press 5x5
Inverted Rows 3xF
Push-ups 3xF
Reverse Crunch 3x12
Workout B
Squat 5x5
Overhead Press 5x5
Deadlift 1x5
Pull-ups/Chin-ups 3xF
Prone Bridges (Planks) 3x30sec
For those who may not know 5x5 means: 5 sets with 5 repetitions per set. 3xF means: 3 sets with each one to failure.
Seems simple enough right?
Well let me tell you, as you progress by adding 5lbs. to the bar each time you workout, regardless of what pound weights you were able to start with from day one, and no matter how much of a man (or woman) you think you are, this routine will push you to your absolute limits in no time at all. It is BRUTAL!
Today, Friday, I finished up the week with Workout B and plan on a casual 5 mile hike through some local trails tomorrow... it's supposed to be up in the 50's and sunny. I'm looking forward to it!
As I mentioned in my last post, Primal exercise consists of mimicking the gathers & hunters of years past. Slow walking (or any type low intensity cardio), sprints and lifting heavy objects.
Now I'm not out in the woods with a spear hunting down animals and then carrying them over my shoulders back to camp for dinner... so how did I incorporate all this in to a modernized version that benefits me with strength building and getting leaner?
Two ways. For my heavy lifting, I'm doing StrongLift's 5x5 program which is absolutely killer! A massive core and mass building routine that requires heavy lifts and a shorter time spent in the gym. It's a win win situation! I do this on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. There are two workouts as part of this plan - Workout A and Workout B - which I alternate back and fourth each time I'm at the gym. I will explain what the workouts consist of in just a few. For my low intensity cardio and sprints, which I do 2 days out of the week (not on lifting days of course!) I switch things up with walking, cycling, or hiking. I go at least 1 hour at a moderate pace so I don't elevate my heart rate too high - I like to keep it right at around 120 bpm, which for my age and weight is right in the fat burn zone. For the sprints, this can be obviously done with any of the aforementioned exercises by incorporating a 20 second max push back to your moderate pace for ten seconds, then repeat. I do this at least 8-10 times over the course of my hour.
The StrongLift 5X5 Program
Workout A
Squat 5x5
Bench Press 5x5
Inverted Rows 3xF
Push-ups 3xF
Reverse Crunch 3x12
Workout B
Squat 5x5
Overhead Press 5x5
Deadlift 1x5
Pull-ups/Chin-ups 3xF
Prone Bridges (Planks) 3x30sec
For those who may not know 5x5 means: 5 sets with 5 repetitions per set. 3xF means: 3 sets with each one to failure.
Seems simple enough right?
Well let me tell you, as you progress by adding 5lbs. to the bar each time you workout, regardless of what pound weights you were able to start with from day one, and no matter how much of a man (or woman) you think you are, this routine will push you to your absolute limits in no time at all. It is BRUTAL!
Today, Friday, I finished up the week with Workout B and plan on a casual 5 mile hike through some local trails tomorrow... it's supposed to be up in the 50's and sunny. I'm looking forward to it!
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