Fit4Life

During this phase I am working on burning more bodyfat, and improving endurance while maintaining muscle. It has been a GREAT week of training. I completed 6 training sessions this week….2 interval cardio sessions, 3 full body circuit sessions, and I added another moderate intensity cardio session with an arm workout. Rest intervals are down and full body circuits are at 30 minutes. Most sessions last 45/50 minutes or less once I add in a 5 minute warm-up and 10 minute stretching cool down. This change has created high motivation and high energy levels. 

Cardio

4 minute walking warm up

1 minute jogging, 2 minute walking rest (4x’s)

4 minute walking cool down

Cardio

40 minute moderate intensity walking on treadmill using inclines

Increased intervals to 5 this week. Total 23 minute interval cardio workout. Completed in exactly 23 minutes. Worked at a 1:2 work to rest ratio and kept rest intervals to 2 minutes. Next week I will increase intervals to 6. Eventually I will work to increase my jog to a sprint. I made a slight change to interval cardio session #2 combining sprints with inclines for a total of 30 minutes. Need to decrease this time to 26 minutes next week.

Full Body Circuit #1

Warm up Circuit (complete circuit, rest 60 secs, and repeat)

lateral squats x 10

push ups x 10

belly blasters x 10

1st mini circuit (complete circuit, rest 60 secs, and repeat 2x’s)

dumbbell deadlift superset w/bent over db rows 40×10 & 20×10

single leg RDL 20×8 each leg

dumbbell curl w/shoulder press 15×8

2nd mini circuit (complete circuit, rest 60 secs, and repeat 2x’s)

lying tricep ext on stability ball 15×12

incline dumbbell chest press on stability ball 15×10

lunges x 8 each leg…should be combined w/crossover wood chop but I can barely do lunges so I eliminated the wood chop for now

Full Body Circuit #2

Warm up

jump rope x30s, rest 30s (repeat for a total of 4 sets)

Circuit

Barbell Deadlift superset w/barbell or dumbbell bent over rows  40/30×10

RDL superset w/standing barbell push press  40/30×8

Leg Press or Lunges or Lying leg curls superset w/bench press

Leg presses are done on day 1, leg curs day 2, and lunges day 3 

Circuit should be completed in 30 minutes….I am down to 30 minutes this week on circuit #1. Circuit #2 takes about 40 minutes. I alternate circuits on full body days. Next week I will work on decreasing my rest intervals. In the coming weeks I will add a different circuit routine to keep the body guessing.

Changing routines and shocking the body has really helped me this last week. It motivates me to challenge myself to see if I can complete new workouts so every time I go in the gym I’m working on something new. For instance, I added a different circuit to my full body circuits, I added a moderate intensity cardio workout with an arms workout to get more definition in my arms, and I added a jump rope routine to my warm ups. All of these slight additions increase metabolism, improve endurance, and burn more fat. My endurance has really benefited from this method and my body is responding well….it really needed a change.

DOIN’ WORK….Oh yeah!

During this phase I am working on burning more bodyfat, and improving endurance while maintaining muscle. I still only completed 4 workouts this week….2 interval cardio workouts and 2 full body circuit workouts. Still need to decrease rest intervals and complete at least 5 training sessions. 

Cardio

4 minute walking warm up

1 minute jogging, 2 minute walking rest (4x’s)

4 minute walking cool down

Total 20 minute interval cardio workout. Completed in exactly 20 minutes. Worked at a 1:2 work to rest ratio and kept rest intervals to 2 minutes. Next week I will increase intervals to 5. Eventually I will work to increase my jog to a sprint.

Full Body Circuit

Warm up Circuit (complete circuit, rest 60 secs, and repeat)

lateral squats x 10

push ups x 10

belly blasters x 10

1st mini circuit (complete circuit, rest 60 secs, and repeat 2x’s)

dumbbell deadlift superset w/bent over db rows 40×10 & 20×10

single leg RDL 20×8 each leg

dumbbell curl w/shoulder press 15×8

2nd mini circuit (complete circuit, rest 60 secs, and repeat 2x’s)

lying tricep ext on stability ball 15×12

incline dumbbell chest press on stability ball 15×10

lunges x 8 each leg…should be combined w/crossover wood chop but I can barely do lunges so I eliminated the wood chop for now

Circuit should be completed in 30 minutes….I am down to 40 minutes this week. Next week I will work on decreasing my rest intervals.

I Switched to full body circuit workouts and interval cardio for the next 4 or 6 weeks….depending upon progress. During this phase I am working on burning more bodyfat, and improving endurance while maintaining muscle. I completed 4 workouts this week….2 interval cardio workouts and 2 full body circuit workouts. I was somewhat pleased with what I was able to accomplish because there were a few activities I didn’t think I could do like jogging, lunges, and stability ball exercises. Next week I need to focus on decreasing my rest intervals and achieving at least 5 training sessions.

Cardio

4 minute walking warm up

1 minute jogging, 2 minute walking rest (4x’s)

4 minute walking cool down

Total 20 minute interval cardio workout. Actually lasted longer because my rest intervals took longer than 2 minutes. Next week I will work to decrease my rest interval and maybe add a round of work/rest intervals. Eventually I will work to increase my jog to a sprint.

Full Body Circuit

Warm up Circuit (complete circuit, rest 60 secs, and repeat)

lateral squats x 10

push ups x 10

belly blasters x 10

1st mini circuit (complete circuit, rest 60 secs, and repeat 2x’s)

dumbbell deadlift w/bent over row 30×10

single leg RDL 15×8 each leg

dumbbell curl w/shoulder press 12×10

2nd mini circuit (complete circuit, rest 60 secs, and repeat 2x’s)

lying tricep ext on stability ball 15×12

incline dumbbell chest press on stability ball 15×10

lunges x 8 each leg…should be combined w/crossover wood chop but I can barely do lunges so I eliminated the wood chop for now

Circuit should be completed in 30 minutes. It took me about 50 minutes. Next week I will work on decreasing my rest intervals.

I am working on improving my cardiovascular endurance so I can do more fat burning activities like running, sprinting, jump rope and more bodyweight exercises like push ups, pull ups, squats, lunges, planks, and so on. I will gradually begin to incorporate these activities into my training sessions.

Happy Training!

Andrew,

I decide to do something a little different with my training for the next 4 weeks (my progress has stalled). I wanted to do more bodyweight exercises and full body circuits so I went back and read some of your blogs since you post your routines there. I came across your one year anniversary blog (Thursday, Oct 15th) and I just wanted to say I admire and appreciated your commitment to what you believe in. You are a man of extraordinary character and integrity. You are enduring and have overcome some challenging obstacles and yet you persevere. You not only walk the walk in your health and fitness life but also spiritually, in family, and career. You are indeed an inspiration! Thank you!

Beverly

Well I completed my transformation about 2 weeks ago. It was fun and a great learning experience. I learned so much about how to train and nutrition. Results are wonderful. I lost 14 lbs, 5-6% body fat, and 4 inches off my waist. I’m excited about the new goals I’ve set.

This next training cycle will either be 6 or 8 weeks and I will continue to work cycles from here on out. This cycle I will be more focused on reducing bodyfat and I’m looking to get another 3 inches off my waist. I actually want to put some weight back on in the form of muscle…..about 4-5lbs, but first the 3 inches has to go!

Thanks for all of your support and motivation. Progress pictures will be coming soon (I need a better camera). See you all on BB.com……DO WORK!!!!!

Phase III was completed a couple of weeks ago. I’ve been too busy to blog….gotta stay focused. Blogging helps me keep track and monitor my progress. I am down to 145 lbs and progress is steady although it has slowed tremendously. All that means is I have to work harder. My bodyfat is around 27%. I need to be able to go somewhere and get an accurate reading. My gym uses a digital monitor you hold at arms distance and it is so inaccurate. I try not to let this stress me out and just focus on body measurements….especially waist measurements since this is where most of my BF rests. I got most of my sessions in for phase III but I decided to change my routine the last week of the phase due to feeling burnout. This change helped tremendously! Progress pictures have been uploaded and I have already started phase IV…the final frontier of my 12 week transformation!

Finished week 8 of 12 week transformation. Things are going great and I’m seeing decent progress. Nice and slow but steady! I will be changing up my routine just a little. I am currently lifting 5 days a week on a 3 day split working each muscle group every three days with no rest in between. The transformation guide said I would work almost to the point of overtraining. Well that’s what it feels like. My energy levels are all over the place. Up for a day or two and almost non existent for the next day or two. I find that when I take a day of rest inbetween or skip a session, I feel much better (more energy). I am constantly adjusting my diet to try and offset my energy levels and mood swings. I’ve decided to change to a 2 day upper/lower body split with 2 days on, one day off, and 2 days on, with some additional cardio on the weekend to speed up fat loss. I hope this doesn’t impede my progress!

Open to suggestions and feedback!

Week three is done and that completes phase II. I took progress pictures….not impressed. Not a whole lot of transforming going on!! There is slight progress but it needs to be better. There is a difference in the time between progress pics. The last time between photos was about 6-7 weeks, this time it’s only 3-4 weeks. I also take into account when I initially start training there was a huge change due to diet and water weight loss. The bottom line is I need to GO HARDER and DISCIPLINE DIET! This round of photos tells me this is a long process…..It’s been about two months total and I expect to see muscles popping everywhere…LOL! The pictures make me realize it takes time. I suggest to anyone really attempting a body transformation to please take progress pictures. The pictures don’t lie. They allow you to see true progress no matter how much you may think you are progressing or how much you may think you’re not making any progress. TAKE PICTURES!

As far as the training sessions in phase II, I completed 13 of the 15 sessions….5 KILLER LEGGS sessions. I lost 2 lbs, dropped .7% body fat,  and gained 1/2 inch of muscle on my thighs. My arms, shoulders, and back are getting some definition. I started adding legs to my progress pictures and the lower body needs a lot of attention….too much flab! My waist went from 33 to 32.7 and finally 32 inches. One inch is better than nothing. I am looking to get to 31 inches by the end of phase III. Each phase is 3 weeks long. Still working on consistency in my diet. I cut back on carbs some but I usually miss a meal almost every day. I’m striving to get in 5 but most of the times I only get in 4. I’m moving on to phase III today, which is a loading phase. Phase II challenged me but I vow to challenge myself even harder in phase III. Time to really DO WORK!!!!!

Another week of transformation in the books. Once again I only completed 4 of the 5 training sessions missing body parts that were hit earlier in the week. I experienced a lot of soreness and fatigue this week and towards the end of the week I really slacked off. I think the intensity of the lifts are causing the fatigue….I might need to add more calories to my diet but sometimes I just don’t want to eat. Next week will be different! Total focus and committment. Still working on diet and actually got in three cardio sessions which is what I was shooting for. Weight and measurements will be done at the end of week 3. I believe there will be progress but not the improvements I expected at the beginning of phase II. That’s fine…this phase is much more challenging than I expected and I’m still making adjustments. I made so much progress early on due to changes in eating habits and probably water weight loss so I know progress will slow some. The initial shock to the body from being sedentary to moerate/high activity produces quick results early. Now I have to work harder and smarter to continue progress. Phase II is definitely a shock to the body but I’m not taking full advantage of it! Oh well….what’s past is past! Time to move on….week three….I’M READY!!!!

Phase II is a challenge….all supersets and maybe one tri-set. The training sessions are very efficient (usually 45 0r 50 min) but very intense. I completed 4 of 5 sessions….missed day 5 due to tournament weekend but I had already hit those body parts earlier in the week. By day 5 I was a little fatigued but I think I really like this phase. Intensity is higher and reps are lower. I still need more consistency with cardio and diet. Tournament weekend interrupts diet so much. I am able to find healthy eating choices but I tend to skip too many meals. Also, I think I over did it with carbs this weekend and not enough of the right veggies. Can’t dwell on the past too long! Time to move on to this coming week. Day one? KILLER LEGGS!!!! Time to DO WORK!