Cowboy_Jay’s BodyBlog

I’m looking for recipes to add some flavor to brown rice!  PLEASE HELP!

I weighed in today at 213lbs today, down from 223 lbs.  I’ve training for since the end of May however there were two weeks at the end of June were me and my family took a much needed vacation.  I did reach 213 lbs right before the vacation, however I didn’t count it due to the fact I had planned on great vacation.  Once back from vacation, I was only up 3 lbs to 216lbs.  It only took me a week and a half to get back on track, not too shabby!  Now I’ve changed my strategy a bit including more rest days between lifting sessions, and have complety cleaned up my diet.  A quick look at my body stats suggests that I lose weight in my legs first.  I have notice that my arms and shoulders show more definition and my face has thinned.

 I am very happy with my progress.  I will be using measurements and weight to guage progress making sure eating enough of the right foods and getting the exact workouts I need.

It has been 14 days since I’ve started (again!) and time for an update.  I’ve managed to stick with light wieght and high rep plan.  Muscle soreness in not unbearable and has only last 36 hours and I’m seeing strength gains.  As far as my diet goes, I’ve cut out Starbucks, and lowered my dessert portions or have substited them with healthier choices.  My weight has not changed, but I’m not focusing on that at the moment.  I’m sticking to the plan of getting 60 to 70% of my strength back before shifting gears.  That means repping out 225 lbs on bench and 225-315 lbs on squats.  If all goes according to plan, I should be there in about two to three weeks.

Arg!!  The hardest thing about taking time of from working out is starting back again.  Since about late December ‘08 I may have been to the gym half a dozen times.  I get back in the swing of things, get really sore, take a couple of days off to recover, then those days turns into weeks and I’m back a square one!!!

I’ve heard that the definition of stupid is doing something over and over and expecting a different result.  So what am I going to do differently?  Training Smarter!

I am not going to go in and throw 225 lb on the barbell and try to push out as many reps as possible.  I am not going to pile on 315 lb on the squat rack and get cramp up on the second set.

I know the muscle memory is there, I just have to acknowledge that I have to slowly wake it up or fall into the cycle again, or worse, injury myself.

So I have swallowed my pride and lifting extremely light weight.  I’m three workouts into it, and I’m still sore, but not enough to keep me from going!

Well since November, I’ve been in the gym a total of five days. 

 Now it is "get serious time".  My short term goal: Be conistent in getting to the gym for 12 weeks!

 Also, I am going to try a new work out regime.  I am going to work on one body part per day.  My training split will look something like this:

1.  Quads/Calves

2.  Back

3. Chest

4. Hamstrings/Calves

5. Shoulders

6. Biceps

7. Triceps

 No more than two rest days in a row.  This cycle should not be more than 9 days.  I’m hoping that with the increased number of days between bodyparts, that strenght will build faster.

I have seen more strength gains!!!!  However, I haven’t seen any changes in weight or body measurements.  This is very frustrating for me because my diet has been very strict.  I hypothosize that I’m measuring my carb portions wrong, or I just need to be a little more patient.

Took my second set of measurements last night and was surprissed.  It has been so long since taking body measurements and watching the trends, that I forgot how my body sheds weight.  For me I lose in the chest and legs before moving on to the torso.  I’ve lost only two pounds but I have to realize that my body can flucuate a few pounds due to the time of day, and what I’ve been eating.  The next weigh in will be the telling tale.

After 3 weeks of training and dieting, I’m finally starting to see some changes, most noteably strength.  I was able to squat 365 lbs for three reps, a far cry from being able to rep out 405 lbs in years past, but I’m getting there.  Aslo I’m starting to notice my face, shoulders and chest thin out, however there is no change in weight as of yet.  I still need to do some body measurements to update progress…….

I just completed my first two weeks of working out and eating right after taking the entire summer off.  My strength is not even close to what it should, but it is slowly coming back.  I did have a pretty good cheat day yesterday but all in all, it is Monday morning and I’m not bloated.  I will be taking measurements tonight to see if there have been any changes.  Physically I notice that I’m not tired in the afternoons anymore, and I’m sleeping better.

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