Sunday, November 4th, 2007 - Back in the gym
So hit the gym after my week long break in the States. God, it doesn't take long for your body to reset! What I mean by that is you body doesn't naturally like the stresses and strains you put on it in the gym. Its designed to react to those stresses however and thats why when you workout you add muscle or lose fat. What I find though is even when you leave the gym for a week your body resets so when you go to the gym that first day back from a break or holiday you feel it. You feel it while you are working out and you sure as hell feel it afterwards!! Now for me personally, i like that. I like knowing I have pushed myself and my body tells me when I am doing that. What I would like to say to anyone feeling out of breath or aching during/after a workout is USE it. Feed off it, thats your body saying "hang on, what are you doing?" and thats your feedback that you are actually making a differece. If you weren't your body would have nothing to complain about and wouldn't ache!
So this week was the first week of looking to lean up a little, i added some swimming into the mix...running is out for the time being as I have semi-numb feet from the chemo and splashing about in the pool is easier on them. It is however still a great cardio workout and combined with resistance training it should push my body into a fat burning zone. To help achived that I've dropped my calories by about 400 per day and added a slow release protein powder to tide me over after my workout and before bed.
Initial results are good
General
Weight : 66kg to 70.7kg (+4kg to 70kg)
Body Fat : 17.3% to 13% (-5.3-7.3% to 10-12%)
Measurements
Chest : 88.8cm to 94.1cm (+5.2cm to 94cm)
Arms : 28.1cm to 32.3cm (+2.4cm to 30.5cm)
Quads : 49.5cm to 55cm (+3.5cm to 53cm)
Waist : 81cm to 83.8cm (-4cm to 77cm)
Sunday, October 28th, 2007 - Ready to go!
Well took the week off as mentioned below. I really missed it and had far too much energy that wasn't being burned off in the gym. Anyway, that week is over now so time to move on!!
General
Weight : 66kg to 70.7kg (+4kg to 70kg)
Body Fat : 17.3% to 13.9% (-5.3-7.3% to 10-12%)
Measurements
Chest : 88.8cm to 93.6cm (+5.2cm to 94cm)
Arms : 28.1cm to 32.4cm (+2.4cm to 30.5cm)
Quads : 49.5cm to 53.8cm (+3.5cm to 53cm)
Waist : 81cm to 83.2cm (-4cm to 77cm)
Sunday, October 21st, 2007 - Feeling great
Well this week brought me to the end of my weight gain cycle and I'm pretty pleased with the results. I've added muscle and fitness over the last few months and have really helped pull myself up from the position I was in after the chemotherapy.
This week was a good week in the gym. I worked hard and felt like I achieved a lot. I didn't tweak my diet which maybe I should have as I definitly believe that my body is burning through 3,000 calories a day with ease!
Next week I am travelling for work once again and have decided to take the week off the gym. The reason being when I travel and workout I seem to get ill. Now the reason I get ill is that my body is still not 100% after the chemo. I can't change that face and although improving my fitness and eating a healthy and balanced diet helps no end there are just some things I can't rush. To that end and the fact I don't want to be ill when I head to the Maldives in a few weeks i'm goning to take a break and hit the gym hard on my return.
General
Weight : 66kg to 71.1kg (+4kg to 70kg)
Body Fat : 17.3% to 13.3% (-5.3-7.3% to 10-12%)
Measurements
Chest : 88.8cm to 93.6cm (+5.2cm to 94cm)
Arms : 28.1cm to 33cm (+2.4cm to 30.5cm)
Quads : 49.5cm to 53.6cm (+3.5cm to 53cm)
Waist : 81cm to 84cm (-4cm to 77cm)
Sunday, October 14th, 2007 - Mixed results
This week was a good week gym wise, i pushed myself hard and felt I put the effort in. The diet went well apart from Saturday and in that respect it probably cost me a little weight. I also feel that I've reached the point where my initial calorific intake needs to be modifyed for me to continue to put on weight. Initially I needed to consume 3000 calories a day to have the calorie surplus I required. However given some good progress I feel I have reached the point where my body is using 3000 calories to maintain its state, therefore to add further weight I need to up my calories to ensure the surplus is maintained.
This is my last week of 'weight gain' as it were before I look to lean up before the end of the year so I want to make it a good one. It also goes to prove that you can't continue to do the same thing whether its exercise or diet and continue to see the same results. Constant assessment and development is needed to keep moving forward.
General
Weight : 66kg to 70.9kg (+4kg to 70kg)
Body Fat : 17.3% to 13.3% (-5.3-7.3% to 10-12%)
Measurements
Chest : 88.8cm to 93.5cm (+5.2cm to 94cm)
Arms : 28.1cm to 33.4cm (+2.4cm to 30.5cm)
Quads : 49.5cm to 53.6cm (+3.5cm to 53cm)
Waist : 81cm to 84.7cm (-4cm to 77cm)
Sunday, October 7th, 2007 - Change to program
A part of any good program is variety, without it your body becomes used to the stresses and strains you place on it and it no longer needs to adapt. Its reaches equilibrium with your workouts and knows exactly how many muscles fibres and at what intensity it needs to contract them to lift the weight. You can go some way to addressing this by always adding weight to your workout but consistent use of the same movement will always be detrimiental to your progress as your body is stressed as much as it could be. Thats why I recommend changing your program every 3-4 weeks to ensure your body doesn't get into a groove. The more change the better, if you can select a complete set of new moves then that will be ideal.
I did exactly this at the begining of the week and have felt much better for it. Results are good and I'm keeping myself interested by switching in different exercises.
General
Weight : 66kg to 71kg (+4kg to 70kg)
Body Fat : 17.3% to 14.7% (-5.3-7.3% to 10-12%)
Measurements
Chest : 88.8cm to 95cm (+5.2cm to 94cm)
Arms : 28.1cm to 31.4cm (+2.4cm to 30.5cm)
Quads : 49.5cm to 53.5cm (+3.5cm to 53cm)
Waist : 81cm to 83.4cm (-4cm to 77cm)