fatdaddy67’s BodyBlog

08/25/2007: 232.8 pounds  I lost 2.8 pounds of fat this week, getting my bodyfat percentage down to 27.17%. I can’t tell you how excited I am to be approaching 20%. I started at 42%.

I am feeling a mile high today. My bodyfat is the lowest it’s been in nearly 15 years, coming in near 27%, and I can smell 20% around the corner. It is hard to believe, but since I weighed in at 278, overall I haven’t lost a pound of muscle. Sure, I lost some the first month when I went gonzo dropping fat, but since then it has returned. God bless muscle memory.

Any of you ever conclude your leg workout feeling like you should have done more, and then reality sets in and you can barely crawl up the stairs, or climb into/out of your car? That was me tonight. Each step was like a dozen.

I improved again tonight.

Leg Workout

Squats, 275×6, 275×5, 275×5, 275×5

Double Leg Ham Curls, 60×10, 60×8, 60×6

Double Leg Calf Raises, 185×12, 185×12, 185×12

Have a great weekend!

Since August 10th, my bodyfat has dropped from 31.18% to 27.17%. In that time I have lost 11.21 pounds of fat and gained 5.25 pounds of muscle. It has been a good two weeks.

Today’s calories = 2,700

08/23/07 - 232.8 pounds

Body Fat % = 27.17

Fat = 63.25 (-5.66)

Muscle =  169.59 (-0.10)

08/16/07 - 238.8 pounds

Body Fat % = 29.10

Fat = 68.91 (-5.55)

Muscle =  169.69 (+5.35)

08/10/07 - 238.8 pounds

Body Fat % = 31.18

Fat = 74.46 (-1.28)

Muscle =  164.34 (-1.12)

I found this article on bicep tendinitus very helpful:

Many lifters experience pain on the medial portion of their elbow           joints. Often bodybuilders aggravate the pain by performing biceps curls           with a straight barbell or by doing the eccentric, or lowering, phase of           dumbbell curls with their forearm in a supinated position. If you           understand the anatomy and biomechanics of the elbow joint, you can see           why this stress occurs.

To determine how you should perform an exercise to avoid undue stress           and injury to joints and to focus the work on the correct muscle, you           must observe how your body functions naturally. For example, when your           arm hangs naturally at your side, your palm faces your thigh. When you           raise your hand to touch your shoulder-that is, perform elbow flexion,           or a biceps curl-your palm rotates to face your shoulder during the           upward motion. This is supination. As you lower your arm to the starting           position, your forearm rotates back, or pronates, so that your palm once           again faces your thigh. This natural rotation places the work on your           biceps and relieves the stress on the joints.

When you perform biceps curls with a straight bar, your forearms are in           a fully supinated position at the bottom of the exercise, not the           natural pronated position. This exposes the medial regions of your elbow           joints to excess stress. It stands to reason, then, that if you do your           biceps curls with dumbbells, you will place less stress on your elbow           joints and reduce the likelihood of injury.

Today was my worst workout. I felt good all day, but by the time I hit the basement, I was sweating from the humidity, and didn‘t feel much energy. In addition, by bicep tendinitis didn‘t like the BB rows. I might dump them, and replace them with a different back exercise. Any back exercise that I perform with my palms parallel to my body seems to cause discomfort. And lastly, I am still having a hard time finding a  deadlifting groove.

Back Workout

Deadlift, 345×5, 345×4, 345×4

BB Rows, 165×8, 165×7, 165×6

BB Curls, 85×8, 85×7, 85×6

Leg Lifts, 12, 12

Today’s calories = 2,800

Very tired tonight. The last 2 months have been tough in one sense: I am getting up 3-5 times a night to urinate. Last night we had a storm, in addition to my bathroom visits. I am planning on cutting down my water post-5 PM to virtually zip, zero, nada. I have always been a big water drinker, and have a tendency to go overboard without noticing it.

Today’s calories = 2,900

Another great workout tonight. I am now bench rep-ing with 195, when a couple short weeks ago my max was 185. My overhead press poundage is skyrocketing as well, and I also felt very strong during my DB bench presses.

I can see my strength returning ala my last lifting stint in 1997. During that time, I never had a period where my strength didn‘t continue to improve. At that time I was benching 375 for reps, squatting around 475 for reps, and my overhead BB press was 205 for reps.

Like I said, at that time I quit lifting while I was still making very quality gains in strength and muscle. Though I am ten years older, my body feels great. I may not experience the same lifting trends as I did ten years ago, but I am very confident that my body will come close.

My off paper goals are to rep with 400 on squat, 500 on deadlift, and 300 on bench by next year this time. I want to do this belt-less, wrap-less, etc. We’ll see.

Chest Workout

Bench Press, 195×6, 194×4, 195×3

DB Bench Press, 60×11, 60×7

Overhead BB Press, 95×12, 95×10, 95×6

Seated Tricep Extensions, 40×12, 40×12

Today’s calories = 2,850

I avoided muffins at work today, along with a company lunch featuring all the fixin’s and fried chicken. I ate the same old same old, and felt damn good about it. I am to the point where I love eating healthy, and breaking my meal plan is not an option. Temptation for crap food is all but gone.

I had quite a night. First, the Green Bay Packers killed (will a capitol ILL-ed) the Seattle Seahawks. Then, the Milwaukee Brewers actually won a game. Finally, riding high on excitement from the evening, I went to bed to get a good night’s rest, and blammo! The power went out.

I lit candles, moved my petrified daughters into the bedroom, and tried to sleep. Tried. It is so hard to sleep when nothing in the house is running. No fridge. No AC. No fan. not even the slightest peep or mechanical drone.

So, with less than perfect sleep I hammered out an awesome leg workout today, squatting much more than my last squat workout.

Leg Workout

Squats, 275×5, 275×5, 275×5, 275×4, 275×4

Romanian Deadlifts, 155×10, 155×8

Single Leg Calf Raises, 50×12, 50×11

I have been mixing up my workouts quite a bit lately. Today I performed a 5×5, just for fun. Regardless of the workout set and rep pattern, one thing remainsconsistent: I push to go up in weight and/or reps. ‘ Nuff said

…and, don’t forget to read about my good news, and my contest.

Part of the fun of transforming your body is the process of discovery. When you begin exercising, or whatever level, you have no clue what awaits you on the other side. You might find that you’ve become a mountain biking fanatic, or that you are in love with weight training, or that your body was secretly a genetically gifted runner or swimmer.

You might also find that your new love is unconditional. Regardless of your success at the new fitness regimen you love, it is something you enjoy doing, and spend hours a day thinking about.

Lifting heavy weights does this for me.

As the fat peels off, and my muscles and strength grow, I have no clue whether it will lead me to serious bodybuilding or powerlifting, or if it will simply live to a healthier, more fulfilling life. But what I do know is this: I can’t wait for my next workout. I eat for it. I sleep for it. I dream of it.

So, where this blog once started as a journey to find myself, it has now become another entity. This is now a blog of a man who has found himself. In the last 80 days I have recovered my health, but moreso than that, I have discovered a part of me that I had forgotten about. Under my fat and behind my poor eating habits was a man who loved weightlifting. And one day at a time, this man was revealed.

What’s under your skin? What will you find at the end of your journey?

Today’s calories = 2,800

08/18/2007: 235.6 pounds

Note: My bodyfat continues to drop while my lean mass continues to rise. Since I have started lifting weights, I have gained over 6 pounds of muscle and lost 15 pounds of fat.