Andrew’s (Spring85sigma) BodyBlog

Happy Friday, everyone! I made it through a good week of workouts. Finally feel that I’ve found my "groove" for 2009. I spent a great deal of time just surfing profiles over the past few days and found new motivation! People have lost great amounts of weight, are prepping for races, competing in figure and bodybuilding contests, or just plain getting in shape. Best of luck to all of the BodySpace family.

Today I worked on my back and did planche training. I even added an extra pull-up to each of my 3 sets. I realized last week that I was not pushing myself and decided this week to up the intensity. I lost some time on the cardio because on Wednesday, I really burned the legs. I’ll see how the runs go after two days of rest. Overall, I’m happy with the week.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone and enjoy the Super Bowl. I’ve been a Pittsburgh fan since I was a young boy! I’m glad to see them back in the Super Bowl again. Go Steelers!

Here is what I did today:

I did planche training, push-ups and worked abs.

Instead of doing 6 sets of 25 push-ups as posted in my workout, I opted to do 3 sets of 50 with the 20 pound back-pack. This upped the intensity. The chest has FINALLY been a little sore as of late! LOL! It does look slightly better to me. I’ve also been working on the diet this week and feel that has contributed to my chest starting to improve.

As far as planche training the arms continue to get straighter and stronger. Next week I will be holding the tuck planche position for 6 sets of 15 seconds each. Still a long way to go before I can hold the position for a minute.  But the progress has been gratifying.

I can tell I had a good leg workout on yesterday. The 2-mile run was a little slower than my sub 15 minute breakthrough on Tuesday. I managed to complete it in 15:38 ! I’m entering the last two weeks of this six-week cycle and am already prepping the next cycle. I will make some more changes to the exercises. I’m thinking that the cardio is about right. It appears to me that the real challenge to getting down to the 6% bodyfat that I want will be to use a cutting diet. I have one somewhere on my hard drive that worked for me a while back. I will, for now, continue to exercise, gain strength and dust that diet off in May or June!

I do feel that I’m getting my rhythm back and feel a lot better about my workouts and my body LOL than I did last week. I’m going to watch the diet until Sunday and give myself a "diet pass" for the Super Bowl (GO STEELERS!).

Here is what I did today:

I got Grandma out to the doctor and helped her with her shopping and did some for my mother as well. But I decided today that regardless of how I was feeling when I returned I would do the workout. Skipping last week had me "out of rhythm" the entire week.  I got all of the "inside" (legs and planche training) stuff done and went outside to do the cardio. At the midpoint of my session (lap 8  ) the wind began to blow and I was caught in a torrential downpour. After drying myself off, I completed another 16 minutes of "cardio-like" activity inside while carrying my 20 pound dumbells and added another 50 push-ups. I still worked up a good sweat. :) A strange ending to my workout.

Here is what I did today:

Got a late start today (I didn’t get enough sleep last night)! But better late than never. Once I got moving I had a very good chest and planche training session. I’m starting to feel better about the chest. I’m doing an extra set of push-ups in the morning and at night. I’m most excited about my 2-mile run. I finally got it under 16 minutes (15:44).

The weather is cold and wet, but I had a great workout! Hope all is well with my BS friends!

Here is what I did today:

I had a great workout today considering I had to make one up on yesterday. I did a 2-mile  (16:11)run on yesterday and a 3.2 mile run today (21:14). The focus was on arms and shoulders today. The big goal is to keep focus on the diet and get clean. The workouts are going well and I think at this point the real change will be seen by focusing on diet to remove the last bit of fat. I’m also adding some extra push-ups back to my workout to see if this will help the size and shape of the chest.

I all is well with everyone!

Here is what I did today:

This is not really a blog. I am simply attaching a copy of my six-week workout cycle to this blog as an example for those who may want to use the format as a way to organize their workouts. I believe organizing my workouts this way has allowed me to be able to maintain focus, build in successes, and avoid injuries. The other strength is that I have a copy of my workout posted and am able to check each off as it is completed. This provides a sense of accomplishment.

If I find that I’ve progressed faster or slower in an element in any of the workouts, I simply adjust the element to provide more or less challenge. The last two weeks of this current cycle will be adjusted, for example, to continue to emphasize work on my chest.

To download the attached file, simply click on the link below. This will open another page. Right click on the name of the file (top line) and select "save target as" and designate where on your computer you want to save the document (e.g. desktop or "my documents"). If you are having trouble downloading the file let me know.

SIX-Week Workout-Cycle 8.doc

Today was a make-up day for my missed back workout! I threw in a lot of different things. Normally, I would have done planche training and a 1 mile power walk. I’m still a bit frustrated because I can’t seem to get my 2 mile run under 16 minutes! The 3 mile run has been consistently under 24 minutes. I find it funny that I hated to run until my mid 30s but now find it a very welcome challenge! I will see what happens this spirng.

I’m working on cleaning up the diet this week and getting in all of my workouts!

Everyone have a great week!

Here is what I did today:

The last two days I have begun to get back on track. I definitely, however, have to recapture some intensity and to focus on my DIET ! I realized after reading some of my old articles on fat loss that one loses weight in the reverse order that they gained it. Thus my difficulty with my chest! This is where I gain first. I also decided that I need to up the push-ups. I believe that this had a great impact on my chest.

Anyway, I did abs and planche training today. The workout was good. I felt some strength gain as far as the tuck planche position but have a long way to go before I will be holding it for 60 seconds. Overall, I feel that I’m in a rut. I am looking at everything, particularly diet, and trying to capture some of my drive. This happens from time to time. I did purchase some "cold gear" and this has gotten me more excited about running which seems to be one of the few places where the progress continues. I did my 3-mile run in 23:40 today, so I am now consistently under 24 minutes.

Everyone have a great weekend and for those of you working out this weekend, have great workouts!

Here is what I did today:

Today, part of my workout was used to make-up some missed elements. Sunday, I will also be making up missed elements. I worked legs , did planche training, and cardio. It was a good workout. I purchased some cold weather gear (Starter) and got to test it out. I was pleasantly surprised. I was warm and comfortable and able to move about freely. I’m looking forward to next week and getting the entire week’s workouts on schedule.

Tomorrow will be a "toasty" 57 degrees and I’m planning on taking progress pictures. These will be the first of 2009! So, be kind!

Here is what I did today:

No workout today! Just got back from the doctor and grocery shopping with Grandma. Her blood pressure was unexpectedly and extremely high today and we spent about an hour an a half with the doctors. Although the spike is most likely due to when she took her medication, we wanted to make sure she was o.k. No other symptoms were detected other than would be normally associated with her kidney disease.

I’ll get back at it on tomorrow. Hopefully, I can get some progress pics in on Friday. Temperatures will be in the 50s and I can go outside!

Sunday will be the make-up day. Take care everyone!