Don’t Have a Keg…

Nothing exciting from my weigh-in today. Weight down slightly, bf up slightly. I was reminded a while ago that these are just numbers - but they are numbers I’m used to tracking so it gets a little frustrating when I don’t see any real progress. However, the fault is my own and only I can make the changes necessary to move them. And the important thing is that I still feel good and am getting the occasional comment of "have you lost weight?"

I decided to update most of my other measurements and most are comparable to what they were some months ago - I expected more progress size-wise as my strength is going up in my workouts. Patience is a virtue I guess.

I’ll be off to Chicago for a conference late next week. One of the odd benefits of going to a conference is that my diet in some ways is actually better as the opportunity to snack is somewhat limited and I get regular meals which sometimes doesn’t happen during the course of my workday. Also, if the hotel has any kind of gym I make good use of it! Without the distractions of homelife I might actually get in more workouts than I’m used too - at least cardio wise as the hotel usually has a few treadmills or bikes.

Another two pounds up, but also another slight decrease in bodyfat - at least according to the scale. I’m choosing to believe that the weight gain is good as long as the bf doesn’t increase.

I also had an interesting comment last night from a woman who hadn’t seen me in a while - she said that she almost didn’t recognize me because I’ve lost so much weight. I know that my weight hasn’t really changed much since she last saw me, but maybe my proportions have. Which begs the question though - how fat did I look before?

I’m looking forward to another good week in the gym - I hope that  any and all who read this have the same!

Good pumps tonight and my arms reached 16.75 on the way back up to 17 inches and beyond. Granted this was a pumped measurement tonight, but my experience is that when I pump to a new size I soon grow to that size cold. With about three weeks left in the month I think I’m on track to reach my goal for October.

Also curled 80 lbs tonight for 3 sets of 6. An increase from 75 last workout. I’ll change weight again at 3 sets of 8 - hopefully next week.

Felt good all day - a little tight, but in a good way if you know what I mean - and I’m getting more sleep than I’ve been used to for the past couple of months. Overall, things are going very well indeed!

Took a big jump in weight this week and not sure why (4 lbs). Bodyfat is still stable though and in fact virtually unchanged. I’m not naive enough to think that I gained 4 lbs of muscle after a week of good workouts - but increasing weight and keeping bodyfat the same is generally a good thing, right? We’ll see what next week brings…

To 100 lbs for reps with the curling weight. Since my one time max went so well, I bumped my curling weight up to 70 lbs and handled that fairly well. I may have really been underestimating my arm strength all these years. I’ll be moving up to 75 next work out as I’m concentrating on getting all my reps in for each set so I’ll be moving slowly, but not too slowly I hope.

Bench feels weak though, can’t seem to manage even 225 for reps - not quite ready to go back any further though. We’ll see how it goes next week.

Also, I’ll be getting my legs back into the workout next week as well. Work now provides free membership at the gym, so it would be a shame to let that squat rack go to waste (or is it "waist" in my case - lol)!

So, I set a goal of curling 100 lbs earlier this month and surprise, surprise as I’m testing for max lift I was able to curl 100 lbs! I owe it to my brother-in-law (and training partner) who suggested that we just try to curl 100 lbs because if we already could do it we’d have to set a new goal. He went first and in customary style curled without too much difficulty, I actually had to make two attempts, but on the second I got it. So, now I guess it’s time to set the new goal at 150 - which means I should be able to do 100 for reps at the very least.

Any suggestions on how to get the weight up are always appreciated!

I’m a day late this week because of my activities yesterday which started at 7:00 am (annual homecoming at my alma mater - college - and I participate with the alumni band. Quite a full day in addition to performing on stage as well last night). Anyway, I’ve had an increase in weight (2 lbs) and a slight increase in bodyfat (0.4%) and am not sure why. I’ll have to refocus on diet as I hit the gym hard this week.

Okay, maybe I’ve reached some sort of turning point in my attitude and priorities. But, this minimal workout is driving me crazy! I’m ready to really hit the gym hard and stick to a solid routine…just a few more days and my schedule is essentially clear through Christmas (oh, there’s one trip and the occasional meeting - but they are on regular nights and I can workout around them). I’m sure I’m not the only one who gets antsy when he, or she, doesn’t get to workout as often as she, or he, likes. But, it’s actually a relatively new experience for me. No, that’s not true, it’s a forgotten experience for me…I now remember that this is what used to keep me on track not too long ago!

Okay - as I’m gearing up for my triumphant return to the gym (okay, I haven’t really left, just pared things down for the most part for the last few weeks as I finish up the play I am in) I had a realization. I’ve let my legs go! I used to consider my legs, especially the calves, one of my best body parts. Which gave me some additional pride as I know a lot of guys have trouble developing good calves. Well, anyway, though my calves are still for the most part good, my thighs are looking…soft. Not hard like they used to be and there’s no sweep at all anymore - not that there was a lot before, I’ve always carried much of my fat in my thighs and hips. So, when I’m developing my new routines I’ve got to be sure to include some squats and/or leg presses. After all, you can’t build a house without a good foundation and the legs are the foundation of the body!