relentless.

yes, it’s going to be an all out assault on those fats around my midsection once january says goodbye to us and february comes knocking on my door. a week of break has gone by and i feel more than hungry to get into the gym and pump iron into my blood. i miss the feeling of contracting my muscles at the peak of every exercise movement, i miss the rush of blood that swells my muscles up, i miss bursting through my last rep as though my very next second of existance depended upon it and i sure do miss that sense of achievement that i get every single time i walk out of the gym after a crushing workout. the time is near to set those fats on fire. break week has energized my batteries to the maximum. my diet has been perfectly spot on and i also had my scheduled cheat meal for the month.

i do not want to break new records pertaining to my own fitness goals, i want to smash them. 5 weeks and 5 days without a single cheat meal was the latest record. now to the next record of having a set of visible abs for the first time in my life. watch this space.

1) mr derek charlebois has replied to my query for me to join team scivation and if he could come up with a diet/gym plan for me to follow religiously to reach my fitness goals. it was a positive reply! i can’t wait to get my programe from him and start full swing right away.

2) today is cheat day! yes, after 5 weeks and 5 days since my last cheat meal, i decided to schedule it today because it falls on my carb refeed day and it’ll give me ample time for the bloated feeling to subside before 01 02 09. this date being the start of my gym programe heads on after a week’s break and the date that ill start new supplementation as well. my plan initially was to have a grand total of no more than THREE cheat meals until 31st March 2008 and i’m RIGHT on track baybay!

3) im in the middle of my break week. which means in another THREE days, i’ll be back kicking ass in the gym! boy, i miss the feeling of pumping iron into my blood. much needed! countdown has never been a bitch but i cant wait to be bigger, better and stronger in the gym!

im officially missing the gym right now. it’s just the first day of break week but im starting to miss the iron already. damn. tomorrow i’ll be back in the gym, this time to assist my brother in his workout. i shall NOT tempt myself to squeeze in a workout or two. no way. this rest would do me good, yes?

im patiently waiting in all eagerness to derek’s reply to my request to join Team Scivation. a plan that would work for me to blast those fats sounds really good and that’s exactly what i need, and im thanking derek in advance for that. it’s been such a shitty day in the camp today and i hope to find some silver lining in the form of his reply! how audacious of me, i know.

today was the last gym workout before i take a 1 week break from gym completely to rest my battered body. it’s been a long and arduous 12 weeks since my last 1 week break but here i am, with a better body to show for than the one i had 12 weeks ago. i am eagerly anticipating mr.derek charlebois’ reply if he can come up with a plan for me to get through this plateue and i hope to blast my body in the gym for another 12 weeks after this week’s break.

workout stats

arnold curls - 8kg x 10, 8kg x 12, 8kg x 15 superset w/ rope triceps pushdown 50lbs x 10, 40lbs x 12, 40lbs x 15

hammer curls - 10kg x 10, 10kg x 12, 4kg x 15 superset w/ reversed gripped tricep pushdowns 50lbs x 10, 50lbx x 12, 40lbs x 12

closed gripped rope curls - 40lbs x 10, 40lbs x 12, 30lbs x 15 superset w/ dips 20 x 3 sets.

closed gripped ez bar curls - 20kg x 10, 10kg x 12, 10kg x 15 superset w/ closegripped smith bench 50kg x 10, 40kg x 12, 30kg x 15

it was an awesome way to cap off my last workout before the week-long break as i totally annihilated my arms in the gym today. concentrated much on form and got the best pump i’ve gotten in awhile. awesome, saha. ill be performing cardio once or twice per day during the break. it’s going to be darn hard to resist the temptation of going to the gym but im sure the rest will pay dividends. i was tempted to throw in a cheat meal today as it’s carb refeed day but thought otherwise because i want to spare myself agony/guilt i’ll feel tomorrow when i wake up. so screw that. sweet potatoes and oatmeal will suffice.

part 2 because my shoulders are still sore as hell! im supposed to be doing arms in my army camp today but the dumbells are out of sorts and thus ill get back tomorrow and crunch out a solid arms workout in the usual gym. tomorrow was supposed to be the start of rest week but now that week shall start on monday. yesterday’s shoulder workout was so much of a blast that today it’s hard to move my arms about in a free manner. my traps are killing me as well. now that’s the feeling that i’ve come to embrace lately. pain. not that im a sadist or whatever, but pain denotes success in the gym the previous day. that’s how i rate a previous workout i guess.

so today i woke up and did cardio in a fasted state for 45 minutes on my stationary bike. in the middle of the workout it dawned upon me that i’ve been doing cardio 7 days this week when i was supposed to do only 5. oh well, extra cardio sessions won’t kill me, will they?

my mother’s constantly been asking when am i ever going to eat her cookings at home or when am i ever going to eat normal food that normal people eat. the answer i give her doesn’t really please her but being the most wonderful mother on earth she is, she’s resigned to the fact that this is my lifestyle and constantly gives me (monetary) support. i love her much for that.

and then there’s my brother. i wouldn’t know what i would do without him as my gym partner. we went through a barren spell in terms of a sibling relationship, you know, we had our own lives and all that. but right now, gym is bonding us together closer than ever before. my baby brother is 17 and i wished i was half as enthusiastic as how he is about gymming when i was his age. but hey, better late than never. i love the way we enter the gym together. we always mean business and don’t chat/yack/play around. we grind out sets after sets, reps after reps and we push each other to our limits. i love my brother for all that he is.

today marks 5 weeks since i touched junk food at all. and i am growing more and more accustomed to my usual food of broccoli, chicken breasts, grapefruits, protein shakes and almonds. and the time i "cheat" is during carb refeed days every 3rd day with the addition of oatmeal and sweet potato. now that im nearly 10 weeks out from my march 31st deadline, i shall shift the refeed days to every 4th day. yup, every 4th day from now on. let’s see how my body responds to that and the addition of added cardio AND the grand introduction of thermogenic fatburners in the form of MAP Arson. this sounds fun.

after a mediocre back workout on wednesday, i let fly with my shoulder workout today. felt like i had a much better workout.

workout stats

smith barbell press - warmup with normal barbell x 20 x 2, working sets - 40kg x 10, 35kg x 12, 35kg x 15

arnold dumbell press - 19kg x 10, 13.5kg x 12, 11kg x 15

front raises - 10kg x 10, 10kg x 12, 9kg x 15 

narrow gripped machine press - 105lbs x 10, 12, 15

barbell shrugs (behind) - 70kg x 15, 80kg x 15, 110kg x 15, 110kg x 15

side raises - 9kg x 10, 9kg x 12, 8kg x 15

cardio done right after workout - 45 mins ( 20mins on stationary cycle, 25mins inclined walking @ gradient 10, pace 5 and 6)

for the first time in my new birth, i did 45 minutes cardio after a gym workout. the longest i’ve done after a gym workout was 30. never 45. a first, and definitely won’t be the last.

it was an off day today so cardio was done on a fasted state in the morning upon waking up. 45 minutes of low to medium intensity on the stationary bicycle. i wonder when can i start running outdoors safely without my knee acting up on me again. the answer doesn’t seem to be so encouraging, but i guess ill just have to take each day as it comes. my conjunctivitis seems to be a tad bit better, but we shall see if it blows up again tomorrow. i pray not.

i detest vanilla flavoured whey isolates. wanted to have a change of flavour and thus ordered vanilla. first sip today was quite bad. now i’ll have to put up with it until i get my next tub in 3-4 weeks time. this time im not going to stray away from my beloved chocolate.

the upcoming week is going to be a logistical challenge in terms of my grocery shopping. the local supermarts might be closed due to the chinese new year holidays so ill have to stack up on all of my almonds, grapefruits, chicken breasts and sweet potatoes. i hope i can survive.

i must’ve been over optimistic about my chances of recovering from the viral conjunctivitis that im currently suffering. yesterday i felt better and today i felt worse. damn. had to consult the doctor again and 2 new eyedrop solutions later, i was given an appointment with the eye specialist this friday. hopefully this virus subsides by the weekend.

it wasnt exactly a back breaking workout today as im sure i’ve had better back days. i shouldn’t be pointing to the conjunctivitis as an excuse but today’s workout’s intensity wasn’t as much as the previous workouts in the week. i chose to concentrate much on my form instead as my back is probably my weakest point and thus wasn’t pounding heavy weights or anything.

workout stats

warmup - 10 pullups 

lateral pulldowns (wide gripped) - warmup-90lbs x15. working set-110lbs x10, 100lbs x12, 90lbs x15

dead lifts - 70kg x 10, 60kg x 12, 60kg x 15

barbell bent over rows - 40kg x 10, 40kg x 12, 30 kg x 15

dumbell rows - 24kg x 10, 21kg x 12, 21kg x 15

crunches - 15 x 4 sets (pause for 2 seconds when crunching)

sit ups - 15 x 2 sets (done till failure)

lying leg raises - 15 x 4 sets

cardio was done for 45 minutes on my stationary bike upon waking up first thing in the morning, thus i didn’t do cardio post-workout. tomorrow will be off day, so cardio again first thing in the morning and ill throw in a couple of core workouts in the mix to strengthen my core. i pray to get the damned conjuntivitis virus out of my system as soon as i can.  

this is just for reference’s sake. im now on the Cut Diet 2250 and it’s as follows.

Meal 1 - 48g protein shake/18 almonds/1 cup broccoli/3 slices grapefruits

Meal 2 - 7oz chicken breast/12 almonds/1 cup broccoli

Meal 3 - 7oz chicken breast/18 almonds/1 cup broccoli

Meal 4 - 48g protein shake/18 almonds/1 cup broccoli

Meal 5 - 7oz chicken breast/12 almonds/1 cup broccoli (Pre-Workout Meal)

48g Protein Shake consumed Post-Workout; Xtend intra-workout

Meal 6 - 48g Protein Shake/18 almonds/1 cup broccoli/3 slices grapefruits

(Every 18th meal would be a Carb Refeed Meal - 1 cup broccoli, 2 scoops oats, 3 slices grapefruits, 18 almonds, 6.5oz sweet potato, 18 almonds)

New Cut Diet 2000 Plan to be Implemented on 01022009. 

3 caps ARSON right upon waking up.  

Meal 1 - 42g protein shake, 1 cup broccoli, 18 almonds, 3 slices grapefruit.

Meal 2 - 6oz chicken breast, 1 cup broccoli, 18 almonds.

Meal 3 - 6oz chicken breast, 1 cup broccoli, 18 almonds

Meal 4 - 42g protein shake, 1 cup broccoli, 12 almonds

3 caps ARSON 1.5hrs later

Meal 5 -6oz chicken breast, 1 cup broccoli, 12 almonds, 3 slices peeled grapefruits (Pre-Workout Meal)

2 scoops Green MAGnitude 1/2hr pre-workout

6 scoops Scivation Xtend intra-workout and during cardio.

48g protein shake post-workout

Meal 6 - 5oz chicken breast, 1/2 cup steamed broccoli, 6 almonds. (Carb Refeed will be the same as previous diet plan)

so that’s going to be my revamped diet from Feb. can’t wait!