Palespyder’s BodyBlog

Okay, so this week was screwed up because the gym was closed on Monday and I failed to plan for it. I am actually starting my Body for Life Day 1 on Monday, I am however doing the workout this week already.

My wife and I were talking this morning about taking 1 morning a week and walking our dogs so that they can get some much needed exercise as well, I will have to see, I am thinking we should do this on Sundays as it is my off day from my workout.

I ran this morning, well, walked and ran anyway. I can defineately feel my stamina going up and can see a difference in how much I am able to do. I screwed up and weighed myself out of habit this morning, that was disappointing, though I am trying to remember that all my clothes are fitting looser and everything feels better muscle wise. Anyway, I will just keep plugging away and working on a better me, Jason v2.0

Did my arm workout this morning, it’s funny how much burn the Body for Life workout gives on those final 2 sets. I finally got the balls to go into what has become affectionately known as "The big boy room" with the guys I work with. I went in and did

Hammer Curls

Dumbell Curls

Wrist Curls

Reverse Wrist Curls

I will eventually work up to being comfortable enough to go in and do my bench stuff instead of using the machines for it. For some reason it is very intimidating for me to go into the free weight area, could be all those guys who are already buff and me as a fat guy going in and looking like an ignorant newbie who is in their way…who knows what my damage is

But, after having done a round of all three (Legs, Cardio, Arms) and seeing that I am sore, but in a good way, and that I feel really strong, I think the Body for Life program will be a great structured workout for me, we will have to wait and see the results in 12 weeks.

It’s grocery day, I am planning on going to a much cleaner (tuna, chicken, lentils, eggs, fruits, and whole grains) diet because the low calorie thing is kicking my ass. I must be missing something in my current diet because my willpower while on this one has been complete shit and I feel as though I might pass out most of the time. I did not think it through last week and just assumed a low calorie diet would help me lose weight when it fact it is a detriment to my workouts and to my health.

Did my cardio this morning, been doing a run a lap, speed walk a lap cardio routine for 2 miles or so.
I am also doing a pell workout (has to do with swordfighting) in the evenings to help me with my shot delivery and targeting. I think I am going to take this portion of my workout to a more boxing oriented workout such as three minute all out rounds beating on the pell in a rotation.  I am hoping that by doing this I will be able to build up my fighting endurance as well as shot speed and striking power without having to use much swinging room.

I started my Body for Life workout this morning and it was great to know what I needed to do and be able to just concentrate on pushing myself. I did get "off" on what the workout is is by doing my legs today instead of arms, but I will just switch that around and make up for it next week but doing it correctly. I was just kind of taking everyone’s advice before and never really had a solid foundation to go with. I would just do what I though "might" work and then Captain Ahab suggested Body for Life and the workout routines and diet made sense.

I will be posting weight & body fat updates weekly, the rest will be monthly. I was weighing myself daily and that was just discouraging. I will just keep on trucking and in 12 weeks I hope to have a changed body!

Well listening to everyone talk about their workout and "what you should do" has left me yo-yo’ing around trying to find what the hell I should do. I finally got around to looking at the Captain’s recommendation of Body For Life and I think I will just give that a go, only post progress once a month, and quick listening to everyone else who has a cousins, sisters, brothers, uncles, second nephew twice removed who lost weight doing X, so I should do it too.

I will continue to post blog entried but progress (both weight, measurements, and photos) will have to wait, I am killing myself with disappointment by doing it how I am now.

I did 45 minutes of cardio this morning, tried to do interval on the bike with resistance level 7 and went from 15mph to 19mph every two minutes and held it for 2 minutes. I am trying to work up to doing it every minute but I was only able to do this about 7 times before my muscles refused to speed up that fast anymore.

I know they say not to weigh yourself everyday, but it has become kind of a habit as I walk into the gym to take off my sweatshirt and weigh myself. I have got to try to break this habit and only do "stats" on Friday with my measurements and pics.

I am going to start writing down what I am eating and post my diet to see if I can get some help, I think I have put myself in starvation, but at the same time I am never hungry anymore. Could be that I just think I should be losing weight faster (don’t we all) and I am being harder on myself then I need to be as I only should be losing about 2-3 lbs per week.

Kidding! Did weights today with 15 minutes of cardio before. I took each group to failure pretty much from the top down. I need to work up a rep/set/weight sheet so I can chart my progression, but being as weak as I am at the moment is is pitifully embarassing to post the numbers that I have to workout with to keep from hurting myself.
I do not know if I have lost any inches, but I noticed that my forearms and wrists are getting smaller, or at the very least the look smaller to me. It also looks to me (again I am only measuring on Fridays) that I am starting to lose my love handles and that my chest and stomach are tightening up as well. I am trying to break the habit of weighing myself everyday, but I have been doing it on "autopilot" for the past moth and it has become a bit of a habit.

I know this is a long road and that the reward for keeping on it will be well worth the miles traveled, no matter how hard they are. I am sticking to the Weight/Cardio/Weight/Cardio/Weight/Cardio/Weight 6 day routine and will continue to post my progress, this place is really inspiring and really helpful. I only hope some day I can become an inspiration for some else.

So I did cardio this morning, 20 minutes on stationary bike doing interval (level 6 for 1 minute then level 10 for 1 minute), it was tough but felt pretty good. I got bored sitting on the bike so I did 1 mile on the track afterward run a lap walk a lap, also felt good except the stiffness in my calves.

I talked to my wife and might pick up a small yoga routine to do in the evenings to try to bring back some flexibility. We used to do it and I always remember how good I felt after, though during I thought I might die a time or two.

Anyway, I am feeling good, trying to eat a bit better, cleaner at the very least, and trying to ween myself off the coffee, or at least down to one cup per morning.

This site needs a meal tracker…

Morning!

Lets see, I did cardio for 35 minutes this morning then went down and did arms and chest.

I added my first measurements and decided to only post my weight on Mondays, this will keep me from getting discouraged every morning. I will also post new measurements and progress pics on Mondays as well
I am speaking with a personal train & nutritionist about what I have been doing and what I have been eating. She is suggesting that I try to reduce my carb intake, quit drinking coffee, and continue on with the protein rich foods. She also stated that I should probably try to lose about 1/2 the weight I want to lose (about 40lbs) before worrying about adding more (or any for that matter ) muscle to my frame to make it a bit easier on myself to lose the weight I would like to. She said once I have lost the 40lbs, then  we can revisit the "bulking" portion and just to worry about the "cutting" right now.

She wants me to cardio every day at least 30 minutes and pick a muscle group to work with lower weight and higher reps, this is what I was doing before I got all screwed up about losing weight and when I did this I dropped basically 20lbs in a month. We will just have to see what happens as I trust what she is telling me.

Breakfast: 2 Scoops Whey Protein Shake (210 Calories)

10am Snack: Skipped due to dentist appointment

Lunch: Michaelina’s Microwave Lunch
3pm Snack: Bene-fit Yogurt
Dinner: Grilled Chicken Breast (Season with Salt, Pepper, & Garlic only) & 1/2cup Lentils (small amount benecol, Salt & Pepper)

Snack: 1 Piece Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Toast

So yeah I been forgetting to take my multi-vitamin and cannot figure out why I have felt like crap for 3 days…

I did a cardio round this morning, but on the advance of Captain Ahab, I am going to find a more proven workout to go with and see if I can make better strides. This bouncing between the same 3-5 pounds is getting old.