monk01’s BodyBlog

I have been off for a week now, and would really like to hit the weights again. I have a new strategy in mind from the get go. I have always been an "at home" workout person, but I am ready to try something new. There is a Gold’s Gym about a block away from where I work, so I took a ride over today. I was impressed with the amount of equipment that was there. I spoke to the owner of the company that I work for, and he is willing to let me take a "few" extra minutes for lunch to go to the gym. I am going to start my new routine tomorrow at Gold’s. I figure that I can get a good workout in during lunch, take a fast shower, and get back within 45 minutes. At least that is what I am going to try to do. The gym has a 14 day free trial, so I am not going to lose anything by trying. If it is necessary, I can always split my workouts up even more to lessen the time it will take for each workout. I am really looking forward to working out in a different environment than my basement. Although it will just kill me to know that I have all of that money just sitting down there….

Since I haven’t been able to move some steel, I figured I could at least move my fat rear end around a little. My wife and I took the kids on a nice 3 mile walk yesterday. While it was no run at full pace adventure, it seemed to get the blood pumping.

Well, it looks like I am going to have to start all over again. I have been pretty limited to what I could eat the last few days, because I have quite a few stitches in my mouth. Needless to say, I have been eating very bad (ice cream, ice cream, and more ice cream). I don’t know quite when I will be able to lift again (hopefully by Thursday or Friday). This is the first time that I have taken this much time off in a long, long time. I am not complaining about it, but I wish it was more on my terms than the terms that it has happened on. Here is to hoping that I am back in the swing of things by Friday…

Tomorrow is the day that I must go in for surgery on my mouth. It is really putting a damper on my workout schedule and diet, but it must be done. I am guessing that I will not be able to workout again until next week some time, which has me a bit miffed, because I am just starting to make some good progress. It also means that I have to fast all day tomorrow, because of the anesthesia. I am also thinking that I will not be able to eat very much for the next few days. Why does stuff like this seem to happen at the wrong time?

 Anyway, I am moving my Thursday night workout to tonight, so at least I don’t miss it altogether. I will do chest and back. My exercises will be bench press, pullup, incline dumbell press, bent row, dips, and t-bar rows. I am going to strive for five more pounds on my bench and bent row numbers.

 I also took my weight measurement this morning instead of Friday, because I probably will not be able to get the scale that I always use. It is our digital pallet scale at the company that I work for. I use this scale, because I know that it is calibrated.

Last night was my leg night, and I was pleased again. I managed to add another ten pounds onto my final squat lift, which made me happy. I did squats, 10 x 185, 7 x 240, 6 x 250, and 4 x 290. I also did calf raises, leg extentions and stiff leg deads. My stiff dead numbers went up as well. I managed to knock off 140 x 10, 160 x 8, 170 x 6, and 190 x 6. Hopefully I can keep on the upward spiral.

I have just done some more measurements, and it seems like I have gained a few inches in some spots, lost some in others, and stayed the same in a place where I would like to lose some inches. I gained an in my upper legs and forearms, which is good news. I lost on my upper arms (a little disappointing) and my calves, which is probably from losing some fat (a good thing). Finally, the most disappointing measurement of all came at my waist. I stayed exactly the same. I really was thinking that I lost and inch or so there, but I was wrong….

Wow, I had two good workouts in a row! I did my chest and back workout last night. My bench was a little weaker than I would like, but I was still happy. My workout consisted of 6 exercises: Bench press, pullups, dumbell incline press, bend over rows, chest dips, and t-bar rows. I was pretty happy with my bent over row numbers, because they have just been going up every week. My weight stayed equal to what it was last week, 194. I am still a bit baffled by it, but it is what it is. I really thought I might loose a pound or two, but I guess not.

I was very pleased with my leg workout last night. I finally feel like I got a really good workout. I squatted 185 x 10, 220 x 8, 240 x 6, and 250 x 4. I also did some standing calf raises, leg extentions, and stiff leg deadlifts. My stiff leg deads are getting pretty good. I did 130 x 10, 150 x 8, 160 x 6, and 180 x 6. I felt pretty good throughout the whole workout. I never ran out of energy, which I normally have a tendency to do. I still think that switching to afternoon, evening workout times is the main reason for having more energy. I am still having a bit of a hard time with my diet. I cheated twice this/last week. My wife and I took the kids to an amusement park this weekend, and I ate pretty bad. I also took my son to a baseball game Monday night and could not resist a nice big, salty soft pretzel.

Today was kind of a bad day for me. I had two things go a little wrong. First, I seemed to have gained some weight back. I thought that I have been pretty strict with my diet, but I guess I am not being as strict as I thought. I will just have to work a little harder at it. Second, I went to the dentist today and got some more bad news. I seem to have an abscess in one of my teeth. I have had a little bump on my gum for a few months, which I thought nothing of, because I had no pain. Well, I had no pain because I have no nerve in the tooth from a past root canal. Anyway, my dentist had to make an appointment with an oral surgeon. I meet with him on Wednesday. I am not looking forward to it, because my dentist told me it could be a big deal.

I didn’t fair as well with my second evening workout. Actually, I had tons of energy, but I just could not push the weight. I don’t know if it was because my last two workouts were so intense, but my muscles were very fatiqued last night. I still liked the evening workout much better than the morning.

I have posted a new progress photo. I know it is only a week since my first photo, but I felt the need for another one. I think that I will try to take one photo every month to get a real perspective on my progress. This may be just what I need to actually make some progress. After all, it was my first picture that made me rethink my whole strategy in the first place.