Raashid’s BodyBlog

So it’s back to a full, no breaks training period.  This is my last week of cutting, July and August I’m aiming to use as a hardcore bulk cycle, especially as I’m starting a new job in September which coincides with Ramadan.  This time I’ll bulk "clean" and monitor my fat levels and make sure it stays under 12%.

I upped the cardio again yesterday, did better then last time:

2min - 10kph

1min - 16kph

1min - 10kph
1min - 16kph

1min - 10kph

1min - 16kph

1min - 10kph

1min - 16kph

1min - 10kph

1min - 16kph

1min - 10kph1min - 16kph

1min - 10kph

1min - 16kph

2min - 10kph

1min - 8kph

1min - 6kph

Been on a cut cycle for 3 months, seems a hell of a long time and it’s been my first ever one. Not particularly successful, although I lost a lot around the middle, I also lost mass everywhere else which would indicate I didn’t consume enough protein.  My workouts have een getting less intense as well.  Anyway, yesterday I tried something different with the HHIT running on the treadmill. Up till now, I’ve been doing 30 mins, with a minute "fast" followed by 2 minutes "slow".  I upped the ante yesterday:

5mins - 9kph

1min - 16kph

1min - 11kph

1min - 16kph

1 min - 10 kph

1min - 16kph

1 min - 10 kph

1min - 16kph

1 min - 10 kph

1min - 16kph

1 min - 9 kph

1min - 15kph

1 min - 9 kph

1min - 15kph

1 min - 9 kph

1min - 15kph

1 min - 11 kph

2 min - 10 kph

1 min - 9 kph

1 min - 8 kph

1 min - 6 kph

Hmm, went for a workout yesterday and found exercises that I was improving on harder then normal, a sure sign that I’ve lost a bit of strength due to the Euro 2008 induced slacking.  I’m hoping the fact that I worked out on Saturday and Sunday had an effect in preventing full recovery for yesterday, and hence, reduced performance.

Silly me I didn’t realise there was an in-built workout recording facility.  I apologise to the designers of bodylog.com, I should never have doubted your ability to make this the best site for training!

Now my exam is over (I passed!) and the football is winding down, hopefully I can get back the level of intensity I had a while back.  My workouts do look a bit lightweight.

Don’t get me wrong, I love football, but the Euro 2008 has got me restricting my workouts to Saturday and Sunday morning.  A change of routine can be good, but when you get the training bug, if you’re only doing 2 workouts a week you feel you’re failing!

Well, I’ve been training since I was 19, but only training well for the last 2-3 years.  I was able to get a good bit of size finally, but didn’t know much about nutrition and never paid much attention to diet - until I saw the movie "300" and decided I want abs like King Leonidas!

Since May I’ve been on my first dedicated "cut cycle".  Cut out most bad carbs, sugars etc. and increased my cardio.  I’ve lost a fair bit of bulk, I think I may have reduced calories too much, but maybe it’s just my body type, I’ll have to experiment for the next cut cycle.  Still, I got my bodyfat down from a softish 13% to around 9% with abs showing.  Next time I’ll aim for  5%.  Winding down the cut cycle now, will go on a bulking for July-August but still with a sensible diet.  I used to think a bulk cycle meant eat as much fried foods and chocolate as I want! If I can bulk up whilst keeping bodyfat below 12%, it will make my next cut cycle easier I hope!

Welcome to the Bodybuilding.com BodyBlogs. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!