ifokust’s Body Transformation Blog

My cardio regimen has always been inconsistent at best.   When I was in high school, basketball and track too care of my heart enough for me to exclude any other cardio work.  As I got older and made less trips to the basketball court I tried to motivate myself to climb the treadmill after my weight training sessions but often left the gym with excuses instead of a sweat drenched shirt.

My focus now is sharper than ever thanks to HIIT training.  I know, this is not a new phenomenon.  I always understood the basic principles  but didn’t know much passed that.  I hit the internet (mostly bodybuilding.com) and tried to educate myself.
I implemented an HIIT routine that was short, challenging and sustainable.  One week in (5 seperate sessions) I feel I can offer an opinion.
Does HIIT offer anything that the general methods of lower impact cardio training doesn’t?

YES!!!! How about better results in half the time?  Now again, I’ve only been an HIIT student for a short time but I’m literally watching that fat drop off of my body by the hour.  I’m burning more calories, have more energy and generally feel better about my results from HIIT without the guilt.  Usually, doing something hard in less time would seem as though one is cutting corners or cheating themselves out of something.  Not when it comes to HIIT I have the results I want with no guilt and the sweat drenched shirt.

I HATE THE TREADMILL!!!   I use to avoid it like the plague in the past but not anymore.  Below is my current HIIT routine:

- 25 MINUTES TREADMILL CARDIO
- 3.6 Jog interval (30 sec)
- 7.3 Run interval (1 min 30 sec)

Props to WantGreatGlutes for the help she inadvertently provided to jump start my HIIT training.

I was always against supplements.  Don’t know exactly why I avoided them in the past.  Lack of knowledge?  Fear?
I’ve now come to my senses and realized that most supplements are totally safe and can help me reach my goals fully.  I’ve never had issue with protein powder and have been taking it since the day I started training.  I added a daily multi-vitamin last year and that was it.   last November I added Creatine to the mix.  

Here is what I’ve added since the top of the year:

Glutamine
Fish Oil Capsules
Glucosamine and Chondroitin

Below is my schedule for ingesting each:

Multi-vitamin - 1 pill in the morning when I wake up

Glucosamine and Chondroitin - 1 of each in the morning when I wake up

Fish Oil - 2 soft gel capsules in the morning when I wake up

ON 100% Gold Standard Whey Protein -  2 scoops 30 mins before training
                                                        2 scoops immediately after (within 1hr)

Creatine - 1 teaspoon in the morning when I wake up
              1 teaspoons 30mins before training
              2 teaspoons immediately after training
              
Glutamine - 1 teaspoon in the morning when I wake up
                 1 teaspooon 30mins before training
                 1 teaspoon immediately after training
                 1 teaspoon before bed

My strategy is a combination of research and my own experience/trial & error.  I listen and watch my body and make adjustments accordingly.  I’m always open to suggestions and constructive criticism as well.

The new diet is not as bad as I assumed it would be.  Eating whole foods as much as possible really fills me up!  I haven’t missed bread, pasta and potatoes as much as I thought.  
I’ve also added new supplements and vitamins into my diet which I’m sure will help me maximize the work I do in the gym.  
On a side, I haven’t been  sleeping straight through the night in a few months; not exactly sure why.
I am getting about 7hrs average per night and feel fine through out the day so I won’t worry about it too much right now.

Here is a sample of what I’ve been eating over the last few days:

Various Breakfast Meal:
Oatmeal
2-3 egg omelette
1 piece of whole wheat toast
Bananas

Snack:
Banana + peanut butter
2-3 egg white omelette
protein powder + water + yogurt
Cottage cheese

Lunch:
Chicken breast w/Veggies (usually broccoli)
Tuna steak
salmon
lean beef tacos (soft) + lettuce + tomato

Various Dinner Meal:
Chicken breast
tuna steak
Sweet potato
potato
broccoli
nigiri sushi
couscous

This is a decision to finally stop looking at food as pure enjoyment and strictly fuel for the body.
My goal is to put on as much lean muscle as possible but maintain very good muscularity and definition.

I’ve never been one to count calories or eat consistently for any period of time but that has all changed starting today.  One clear detriment to my progress is my lack of drinking enough water through out the day.  I’m determined to drink at least 1.5 gallons of water per day.

My second dietary goal is to cut down on the amount of bad carbs.  I know there are clear ideologies behind how many carbs one should consume per day and what works for some may not work for everyone.  My plan is to cut out bread, rice, pasta, and potatoes as much as possible.  My carb source will come mostly from oatmeal, vegetables, and protein supplements.  Of course, there is wiggle room on this one.  If I do eat carbs, they will be early in the day (breakfast/early lunch).

Day one of this new diet has already come and gone and….I’m hungry! lol

I’ll update my progress again soon….

I’ve been following a new workout routine pretty diligently for the last 4 weeks.  My previous routine was becoming boring, repetitive and not very challenging.  I decided to switch things up & re-commit to the gym & getting in the best shape possible.  I rarely do this but I decided to pull a routine out of a health & exercise magazine.  It just so happened one of my favorite professional athletes was on the cover.  The routine I’m following is Adrian Peterson’s football conditioning routine.  It is basically a two day rotation.  Day 1 focuses on upper body; Day 2 focuses on the lower body.  The simplicity of the routine plus the flexibility to add complimentary exercises and cardio was perfect for where I am today.  

Here is the breakdown:

Sunday & Tuesday:  Upper Body

STANDING SHOULDER SHRUG  1/6-10
INCLINE (S) (T) FLAT-BENCH 3/10,8,8
CLOSE-GRIP PULL UP 1/to failure
MACHINE PULLOVER 1/6-10
FLAT (S) INCLINE (T) MACHINE DUMBBELL PRESS 2/6-10
DUMBBELL LATERAL (S)FRONT (T)RAISE 1/6-10
SEATED CABLE ROW 1/6-10
SEATED CABLE SCAPULAR TRETRACTION 1/6-10
FLAT (S) INCLINE (T) MACHINE CHEST PRESS 1/6-10
LAT PULLDOWN 1/6-10
MACINE OVERHEAD PRESS 1/6-10
MACHINE ROW 1/6-10
MACHINE FLYE (S) LATERAL RAISE (T) 1/6-10
MACHINE REVERSE FLYE 1/6-10
EXTERNAL (S) INTERNAL (T) ROTATION 1/6-10
TRICEPS PRESSDOWN 1/6-10
CABLE CURL 1/6-10

Monday & Wednesday:  Lower Body

HANG CLEAN 3/6
or DEADLIFT (M) SQUAT (W) 3/12,10,8
ROMANIAN DEADLIFT (M) GLUTE-HAM RAISE (W) 2/6-10
LEG PRESS 2/6-10
LEG CURL 1/6-10
ONE-LEG PRESS (M) DUMBBELL STEP-UP OR LUNGE (W) 1/6-10
ONE-LEG CURL (M) LEG CURL ON EXERCISE BALL (W) 1/6-10
ONE-LEG HIP FLEXION (M) BRIDGE ON EXERCISE BALL (W) 1 6/1-
HIP ABDUCTION 1/6-10
LEG EXTENSION 1/6-10
STANDING CALF RAISE 1/6-10
BALL (M) MACHINE (W) BACK EXTENSION 1/15
BALL (M) MACHINE (W) CRUNCH 1/25
MEDICINE-BALL (M) MACHINE (W) TORSO TWIST 1/40
REVERSE CRUNCH (M) CABLE SIDE BEND (W) 1/15

Since the routine is spread out across four consecutive days, there is a lot of rest time in between.  I utilize this time for cardio, sports and other activities.  I do rest quite a bit as well.  I’m sore and fatigued after the routines (which is great).

My overall strength has improved, especially the lower body.  My stamina is great & enthusiasm is way up.  Progress feels good.

Until the setbacks come.  
After a particularly hard upper body workout I noticed some soreness in my left shoulder that hasn’t gone away.  I took a few upper body sessions off which helped but I’m still not fully recovered.  I don’t think it’s because of over training but I may have tweaked (slightly torn) SOMETHING in the shoulder.  I’ve had weaker shoulders for years but with huge gains in overall strength I may have over done a shoulder press set or something.
I had planned to take a week (up to 2) off to finish up my sleeve tattoo at the end of October so hopefully i can come back strong & pain free after that.  As to not lose my motivation or become too frustrated by this setback I remind myself to take it all in stride.  This may be a setback but it is only temporary.