Get LEAN!
8/3/08 - My new goal is to have ripped abs by April 2009 for my vacation trip to Hawaii. I can only imagine that this diet will put extreme stress on my body and takes a lot of mental discipline. Despite the fact that I will be more defined as I lose body fat, I may experience psychological changes due to the fact that I will be craving carbohydrate foods and will be very tired.
With low glycogen stores in the muscles, they will appear flat making me feel smaller, when this is not actually the case. This is why I will up the carbohydrates 150 grams every third day and drop 50 grams the next day and another 50 grams the day after. If you have a day of eating increased amounts of carbohydrates you may be a little fuller, with the spin off of positive mental effects.
In continuation to eat well in respect of quantity, cut out any fatty and sugary foods and junk food treats. During this time, I find it most effective to plan what you are going to do so you are completely ready to start properly. This is why I will prepare all my meals for the week on Sunday.
Fruit and fruit juice intake should also be low due to the simple sugar content, so make up for this by consuming plenty of non-starch vegetables, to ensure a good intake of vitamins and minerals. Red meat now and again is also useful for variety and great protein quality.
The following is a meal plan for this period from the onset of the diet up to week four:
Wake 7.30a
06:30a 2 cups of Oatmeal, 6 egg whites, ½ grapefruit
08:00a Protein bar
10:30a Whey Protein shake w/8oz skim milk
13:00p Chicken breast, V8 juice
15.30p Whey Protein shake w/8oz water
18.00p Protein bar, vegetable soup
20.30p Chicken breast, 1 cup of steamed broccoli
23.00p Whey Protein shake w/8oz water
23.30p bed
Middle of night 1 scoop whey protein in water (if wake)
(after training) 2 scoops whey protein in water
Cardiovascular work will be increased considerably during this time. 30 minutes on six mornings and on two of the evenings where I do not weight train. I will have one day a week, completely exercise free to relax. Cardio should be at the 55 - 60% of maximum heart rate level.
08/18/08 - One word – BRUTAL!
That is how I will describe yesterday’s 10k race. There were about 500 serious runners and the coarse was no joke. They named it “Survivor Series: Race thru the Redwoods”. The first 2.5 miles was easy but that was just a tease. At 2.5 miles, you start “The Climb” where eventually you are running straight up hill for about 300 feet then plateau for about 20 feet only to hit 3 more hills with steep inclines. After 4.5 miles, my legs were starting to feel heavy and then there were the slopes down hill. It was either run or walk. I chose to run to make up for some lost time going up the hill (I had to walk in some places because it was too steep.) and I was hoping my legs would not give out. I made it successfully down the slopes without eating dirt. After 5 miles, the course becomes very nasty as the trail switches from dirt to sand. My legs are already spent and now my calves are feeling the burn. The 6 mile marker felt like FOREVER to approach and so did the finish line but I made it in less time (1 hr and 3 minutes) than the Santa Cruz 10k (1 hr and 6 minutes)…and I beat my Dad! Now we have a tiebreaker. We are looking at October 26th for the next 10k which will be held in Livermore. This one will be all flat so I should be able to get a good personal record as my goal is to be under 60 minutes. I might do a 5k next month just to keep my legs in shape.
08/20/08 - Jogged 3 miles under 27 minutes.
09/11/08 – Alright, time for an update. Work has been keeping me busy with a new hire and other obligations that my boss needs fulfilled. My diet has been so-so resulting in my weight going up and down between 206 and 208 pounds for the past month. Training has been sporadic in the first couple of weeks; however, I tailored the routine to doing weight resistance, jump and core training, and cardio all twice a week.
My routine now looks like this:
Monday – Weights/Abs
Tuesday – Plyometric Training
Wednesday – Cardio (Jog 3.5 miles under 30 minutes)
Thursday – Rest/Stretch
Friday – Weights/Abs
Saturday – Core Synergenics (Concentrates on strengthening the mid section and lower back)
Sunday - Cardio (Jog 3.5 miles under 30 minutes)
The following Monday is my rest/stretch day and the whole routine repeats giving me a different day off each week.
A setback occurred last Saturday as I broke one of my toes on my right foot. Why does this shit always have to happen within 3 weeks from a race (next one is 9/27)? Last time I pulled my hamstring…now this. WTF?
10/1/08 – To be frank here, I slipped. My race last Saturday was an eye-opener as my Dad (who is 65) kicked my ass. I have a chance of being promoted at work; therefore, my hours have increased leaving little time to workout. I am not looking for excuses. I need to get my mind back in the game. On Monday, I did core synergistics and yesterday I jogged 4.25 miles. Tonight I am hitting shoulders and arms. Perhaps if I log my daily activities as I did in my last blog, it will encourage me to strive….
10/1/08 – Trained shoulders, arms, and abs.
10/02/08 – Jogged 4.25 miles
10/03/08 – Worked out legs, back, and abs.
10/06/08 – Jogged 4.25 miles. 6 months to Hawaii…
10/07/08 – Worked out chest and arms.
10/08/08 – Jogged 3.75 miles @ an 8:34 minute pace.
10/09/08 – Worked out back and biceps.
10/10/08 – Jogged for 45 minutes.
10/13/08 – Worked out legs and back.
10/14/08 – Jogged 3.64 miles
10/15/08 – Worked out shoulders and arms.
10/16/08 – Jogged 5 miles
10/17/08 – Worked out chest and back.
10/20/08 – Worked out chest and shoulders.
10/21/08 – Worker out back and biceps.
10/22/08 – Worked out legs.
10/24/08 – Worked out chest and triceps.
10/26/08 – Finished 10k run at 58:35. Best record.
11/19/08 – Been hitting the gym about 3 times a week this month. Work has gotten the best of me for the most part of November. Starting to hit the weights more frequently because I am bailing out from work instead of pushing myself to try to accomplish everything in a day. Work will be there tomorrow. Starting to enjoy the training sessions again.
12/11/08 – Times are tough. The economy is putting the pinch coming into this holiday season. Although my workload is still over 60 hours a week, I am still trying to find the time to workout. I am considering signing up at 24hr Fitness so I have the convenience of working out at anytime. I have been taking Gaspari Nutrition’s Noladex XT (2 tabs a night) since 12/1/08 and I really like it. Strength and energy have gone up; however, I do try to eat an adequate amount of protein. Cardio has slipped drastically thus the reason why I am looking into a gym membership. It’s too cold to jog outside! I know… I can hear my friend Jay telling me that I sound like a pansy because I live here in Cali….ha ha ha…trying to keep the spirit and motivation up. Hawaii will be here in no time….
12/27/08 - Signed up at Gold’s Gym. New training starts on Monday…Hawaii trip has been cancelled.
12/29/08 – I am not killing this blog. It just goes to show you that it can be easy to loose your way, get knocked down, and detoured from your goals that you set for yourself. The most important thing is to still believe in yourself. I signed up yesterday at Gold’s for one reason: to change the environment in where I was training (my garage). My garage was great place to work out 8 months ago; especially with the high prices, but the distractions were starting to accumulate.
My goal is to get my weight down to 185lbs before the next Wharf-to-Wharf 10k race. Although the race is not until July, I am determined to be at this weight by April 2009.
To accomplish this, I will use a two-day on / one-day off, two-day on / two-day off program with morning cardio sessions.
Monday AM – Cardio / Abs
Monday PM - Shoulders / Calves
Tuesday AM – Cardio / Punching Bag, Speed Bag
Tuesday PM - Back / Triceps
Wednesday AM - Cardio / Abs
Thursday – Cardio / Punching Bag, Speed Bag
Thursday - Quads / Hamstrings
Friday – Cardio / Abs
Friday - Chest / Biceps
Saturday – 1 ¼ hour of any cardiovascular activity.
Every 4th week switch out a few exercises with something else and alternate the rep range.
Participate in 2 or 3 10k races before July.
12/31/08 - AM cardio for 45 minutes. Happy New Year!
01/03/09 - 1 hour and 15 minutes of cardio.
01/05/09 - AM cardio for 30 minutes and ab work.
01/06/09 - Couldn’t hit shoulders last evening; therefore, I did them this morning and followed up with cardio. Skipped calves (sorry calves) to allow time to get to work but will add them to Thursday’s leg workout.
01/07/09 - AM cardio for 30 minutes and ab work.
01/09/09 - Worked out legs late last night (midnight) and I am heading to Lake Tahoe this morning for the weekend. No workout for today.
01/15/09 - Had to take a last minute flight to FL for business. Missed legs, chest, biceps, abs, and cardio.
01/21/09 - Dropped 5lbs! Back in CA and made up chest, biceps on Monday with shoulders. Had a great back and tricep workout yesterday. Strength is increasing!
01/22/09 - ROADBLOCK! I had minor surgery on my left foot. Doctor says cardio is out for at least 10 days. Despite the injury and pain, I managed to work out legs.
02/25/09 - My foot is healing up but I sprained my lower back on 02/14. I have gained 15lbs of unwanted weight. Goal is still to get down to 200 lbs by April. 185lbs is out of the picture. 6 more weeks until Hawaii. I can do this…
03/17/09 - Back on track. Jogged 3 miles yesterday after hitting shoulders, traps, and abs. Think I’ll pick up a fat burner for these last couple of weeks.
3/29/09 - Jogged 5.5 miles.
3/31/09 - AM cardio (45 min) burning 500 calories.
4/5/09 - Jogged hills, sprints, walk..repeat for 70 minutes. Total: 5.5 miles. Doing cardio every day burning at least 500 calories each session. On some days, I am doing cardio twice a day buring a total of 1000 calories. Signed up for a 10k race in July (Santa Cruz Wharf-to-Wharf). Working out abs every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Feeling good!!!
4/7/09 - This will be my last entry for this blog. I am at 210lbs. I leave for Hawaii in 2 days. Although I am not where I wanted to be, I gave it my best shot. I feel great and I can jog over 5.5 miles very easily. Next goal is to increase strength and mass. Thanks for taking the time to read my blog. I wish you nothing but success on your fitness endeavors.
August 3, 2008 at 7:26 pm
Interesting approach. will be watching your progress.
August 3, 2008 at 7:38 pm
Thanks man. I appreciate the support!