Episode 4: A new hope....

Ok guys....time to get serious. First things first...Circuit training with plyometrics = totally shock the muscles and get toned up. I have been trying to do rand crap like clean and jerk sets of 10, box jumps and stuff for just overall strength.

Most importantly, why dont we have chests like bolo?
http://www.bolo-yeung.com/galleries4.html
Until our chests reach almost to our waists, we have not achieved anything!!!

I'll do it!!!

Just wanted to report a resurgence in dedication for one month and counting. My weight (175) hasn't changed but much more muscle and less fat. Haven't done any measurements yet (too rat to justify yet) but everything is coming back from the slumber.

Also wanted to post a quote I read in the arnold wikipedia entry-

He was so dedicated as a youngster that he was known to break into the local gym on weekends, when it was usually closed, so that he could train. "It would make me sick to miss a workout … I knew I couldn't look at myself in the mirror the next morning if I didn't do it."

Results

I'm definitely satisfied with my end of summer stats- made some pretty solid gains and I plan to keep it up as much as possible this fall. Gotta run and swim a lot to get more shredded; if i leave this layer of fat on with my stocky frame, I'm in serious danger of becoming a midge

Summer start: 166 lbs, 16.7% body fat
Summer end: 167 lbs, 12.5% body fat

Upper Chest

Jason and I were discussing the fact that him and I need to stress upper chest more then anything else. I went in yesterday and did about every upper chest workout I could think of. I'm hoping I'll see some nice results in the next 6 weeks.

You're a sick guy Johnny

John hit the g at our complex...I had never seen anything like it....pumped up, you know?

Slight Unrelated

The kite is glorious!

COGS! man

Disheartening news yet still salvageable! Rob my workout partner frequently skips gym hits but I refuse to let it get to me. I've been using the ipod solo workout routine and I have to say sometimes it's actually nice, you get into your workout and tune everything else out. Well I guess I should report I'm weighing 190 and I'm seeing some results, chest is actually looking slight bigger which is huge for me. Skipped cardio this week because my legs were so burnt from my monday morning leg workout :( ... that was hardcore. But losing body fat for sure. Anyway gl to you guys I plan on going all out the next six weeks.

Gat

Dedication at record lows....been hitting the g like 30 min once a week....approaching total dmor. no use without workout partner. i think i'm like 165 and looking like a mild in shape but skinny rat stage

Beh....Best a luck kid....best a luck

So, john and i just had our first lapse of the summer, but we are now back in dedication mode. Our cardio is a mix between running some days, swimming, and a newly discovered glaze: box jumping. Just stand in place and do a flat footed jump with both feet onto a platform about 1.5 - 2.0 feet tall, immediately step down and jump again as soon as you hit the ground. Do about 15 - 20 reps and rest 2 mins in between each set. Do it with a serious sense of urgency, like you are trying to squeeze as many jumps as possible into a 30 second period. Helps the vertical leap, roasts your legs, and is some sick cardio.

YES !

Dude I've been waiting for someone other then me to post! Drew took his Vegas/Spain trips and he's still in Spain at the moment. I on the other hand have been pert dedicated. Gotten my bench up to 225 (4 reps last set) and I'm trying to work on getting abs to show. I've been doing lots of cardio and I've been eating perfectly. All wheats and low fat meats and eggs. I should start to see some serious results within the next 3 - 4 weeks. Meanwhile I hope you guys are getting serious.

What News?

So what the hell's going on? There hasn't been any blog commentary or WoW participation in weeks.

Report? We're sorta cowardly over here with a lack of gym activity on account of jason's going to vegas. He's back now, and we're ready to hit the G hard though.

Discovery

I just discovered Friendship brand cottage cheese with pineapples. It's sooooo freakin good, healthy desert you should consider trying.

Day 1

Well it's pretty much day one for me. I couldn't get my body fat tested today but will be getting that done as soon as my gym starts doing it which should be soon. I'm pretty tired, had class starting at 9:30 had a meal and ended class at 1:45. I went to the gym but not before I walked about 4 miles at a brisk pace (might as well get some minor cardio in) on campus walking to classes and then walking to buy my books instead of driving. Worked out legs since my gym partner didn't want to come today and I figured I'd save chest, back, arms so I can do them with a partner. I ran 15 mins on the treadmill and walked at a 12% incline for another 15 mins. Then hit the grocery for strict food, whole wheat's and lean meats. Anyway progress begins and I know I'll get acclimated with the schedule soon enough.

Note: I weighed in at 192 pounds.

Music

Alright so here is where you post those classics that get you through your workout if you are an ipod user in the gym. Those days that you may end up in the gym by yourself-having the ipod is crucial, I wasn't a believer until recently; but having some sick songs pumping can turn you into a machine.

I thought I'd suggest Let the Bodies hit the Floor by Johnny Pool. pretty sure it's Pool at least. A bit hardcore of a song yes but it'll get you serious.


"When you put your hand into a bunch of goo that was once your best friend's face, you'll know what to do. "
-Patton

Cholula

Related to that tuna recipe:

I had the revelation recently that hot sauce pretty much makes anything delicious, or edible at worst

delish tuna

yo pacs, some nice postings...the glory days. You were massive for sure. In all honesty i feel like i look about the same, maybe better than i used to, but i am a hell of a lot weaker. I was benching a lot and curling crazy weights back in the day, but now i can hardly bench crap. Anyway....we need to set new records.

Perfect lunch =
1) Garlic and herb tuna pouch (i think its starkist that makes it)
2) Whole Wheat toast
3) Some red pepper hot sauce, oregano, and just a dash of parmesean/romano cheese (another alternative is to throw a slice of lowfat cheese on there and make it a melt.)

Previous Success

Not to harp on the past but I like to remind myself from time to time the techniques and practices that got me to a level I was proud of. At my peak I was at 225-30 with about 9-10% body fat. I would say I had been working out off and on for about 8 months followed by a period of a very dedicated 4 months. During the above mentioned time I didn't have a single drink. I would go out with my workout partner and we'd both drink water at parties/bars. I was in the gym 5 - 6 days a week. I was using the one body part per day approach. For example, chest monday, back tuesday, legs weds, arms thurs, shoulds friday, and we'd go in on some saturdays if we had the extra motivation where I'd do stuff like lower back, forearms, neck exercises, calves, grip exercises, all the stuff that gets worked out indirectly but doesn't often get that direct workout it might need.
I ate 7 meals per day (3 of those being protein shakes if you want to call that a "meal"), was pretty damn strict eating mostly wheat breads and a lot of chicken and turkey. I stopped having desert and actually didn't miss it at all after about a month. My normal daily meal routine would be 4 eggs/2 slices of toast or protein shake/oatmeal, mid day meal can of tuna, lunch - 1/2 chicken and 2 sweet potatoes, protein shake before and after the gym, dinner (place appropriate meal here), a micellar casein shake before bed. There were a couple weeks where if I woke up for water at like 3 am I would pop another micellar casein shake. But LOL seriously was overkill.
Anyway this is to kind of remind myself that once I get in the rhythm of working out, eating is the most important aspect.

Here's a pretty helpful tool for building a workout if you want/need to change it up for a week or two: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/workoutdatabase.htm

Cooked Hams

I had mentioned a leg workout in passing to Jason and John while we were in the keys .... I'll elaborate on it a bit. Be warned though it's fuckin serious and will make you sore to the point of incapacitation if you haven't been working your hams out for at least 2 to 3 weeks.

1. Find a lat pull-down machine that has a well padded seat.
2. Stand with your back facing the weight rack.
3. Place your legs into the holsters so that the pads that would normally be on your quads are just above your achilles tendon.
4. Have your workout partner stand about 3 - 4 feet in front of you and place their arm horizontally to the floor and grab their wrist with the other arm so that it acts like a bar.
5. Let yourself down slowly and use your partner's arm as a stopping point. Pull with your hams back up. Repeat for 3-4 exercises.
6. Stretch like a motherfucker.

Stats

I haven't been able to get my body fat composition test since I won't be going to a gym until I get back up on Monday. Either way I've been trying to design a diet in my head. I took these measurements right after a large lunch 3 hamburgers and a small sliver of cheesecake. Granted my eating needs to get much better and I need access to the gym to really get started. In any case here they are:

Biceps = 14.625

L Calf = 15.5
R Calf = 16 (wtf my calves are uneven gg)

Legs (Quads at midpoint from knee to hip joint)
= 21.5

Waist = 35

Forearms = 12

Chest/Back circumference with arms up = 39.75


So there it is, sad but true. Evident that I need lots of work.

Jason maybe you could put up that recipe, the wheatbread tuna sandwich one?

Stats

My start-of-the-summer stats are pretty demore...

166 lbs
16.7% body fat

weak chest, weak back... but at least i'm sore and that means i'm making progress

The beginning...

So John and I signed up at the gym today, we wanted to start gaining some...Maaascles.

I havent done the body part measurements yet, but my weight is 178 and my body fat percentage is 13.4%.

We did chest and back today. As usual, our chests were both super weak...my last set of bench was 185 like 6 times. My back was relatively decent...hossed up some rows and lat pulldowns. Tomorrow we do shoulds and arms.

Ideas

So there's probably nothing earth-shattering here, but if you run out of ideas for exercises, this might help with the brainstorming at least

http://www.exrx.net/Lists/WtFemale.html

p.s. it's a disturbing picture of a cheese old cgi naked woman.. sorry.
Just click on muscle groups to bring up lists of stuff

Drew's Progression

Getting Serious ..

So I'm ready to get serious, plain and simple. The idea for this blog is for all of us to put up measurements, results, workouts, recipes (healthy lol). I figure we'll have someone who wins and we all go to that person. For example if Drew wins in Miami we should all head down and have a classic weekend. Either way I hope we can use this to motivate and keep us dedicated.