alm21’s BodyBlog

This year I have made some changes in my approach to training.  Primarily, I have incorporated Scivation training and diet principles.  Although my diet is my weakest link (as always) I have made some good gains with the iron.  I think the biggest factor to my success is maintaining a lifting log.  Using the workout program from Scivation Cut Diet, I have increased my strength and stamina in the gym.  The trainings logs are a great tool to maintain focus and continue to push my limits.  Since January, I have been performing 4 sets of 12-15 reps for the various workouts.  I am now transitioning to 5 sets of 10 reps which means the load is increasing.  I’m looking forward to when I get to 6-10 reps so I can focus on adding the iron.

I still need to improve on cardio and manage my diet consistenly.  I have no plans to ever compete so I think I give myself too much slack with the diet.  During the day, I’m solid on the diet but in the evening, specifically between 7pm and bed, I tend to eat & drink crap.

I feel that I am beginning to dial-in my supplements after months of trials.  I recently started taking Dialene and whoa, I wasn’t prepared for the effects.  The high levels of Niacin light me up as if I spent the night in a tanning bed.  I become very flush, like a beet, and my skin feels like it’s on fire.  I also feel the calming, more like numbing, effects as well.  This will last about 20-30 minutes and seems to affect me more in the morning vs. the afternoon when I take the second dose.

Yesterday wrapped up a solid week in the gym.  I didn’t do as much cardio as I had set out to do but I had time constraints and I didn’t want to cut my lifts short.  I’ve been keeping a journal which has been extremely helpful.  After all the years spent in the gym, I don’t know why I didn’t start recording my workouts before.  I push myself much harder now.

I have been following the Scivation Cut Diet training program and I am going into week 4.  I have repeated some of the training for weeks 1-4.  This is because I had some weeks were I didn’t get every workout done or I didn’t feel I had that week’s lift tuned so I repeated it the following week.  I am really happy with this program right now.  Although it’s not a huge amount of weight, I’m squatting 245lbs for 4 sets of 15 reps which is a good gain for me.  Soon, I will be back down to lower reps and higher weight which I’m looking forward to.

After my lift yesterday morning, I went in for a hot stone massage which my wife got me as a b-day gift.  Knowing I was going in for a massage, I hit the shoulders real hard during my lift. Tell you what, those stone as hot!  The heat penetrates you to the bone.  That massage was a great way to finish up the week’s routine.

Now that my medication is preventing me from experiencing weightlifter’s migraines, I feel I am starting to get back into my groove.  The only down side is that it makes me sleepy and it’s harder to get up in the morning.  I need to work on getting back into the am cardio session a few times a week.  It seems that will be the only way I can consistently get my cardio done.

So today is a hard earned rest day.  I will probably spend it doing chores and play with the kids.