June 30th, 2009

Well first off I apologize for not posting on this blog for the past 11 days. I've been very busy, so I haven't had a lot of time to write. Since I last wrote I've continued to diet and workout. A few milestones: last Friday I was able to max bench press (1 rep) 205 pounds. I did a long peck workout, but I felt strong so I decided to max bench. I put up 205 for the first time, so that's my current PR (personal record). 20 pounds to go to reach my September 1st goal of 225 lbs. My weight has actually increased from 183.5 to 185 pounds, however my body fat has dropped to 18.05%. I still have at least 6% to lose to attain my goal of a six pack. I'm ultimately aiming for 10% body fat. My arms have also increased by roughly 1.25 inches (circumference) in the past month. I'm now at 14.5 inches around.

I've been dieting religiously for the past month now, so it's become quite habitual. The more you diet and workout the more it becomes part of your routine. I'm really starting to crave healthy food and exercise. This week I'm on vacation so I don't have access to a gym. I've still been working out by running several times a day as well as throwing in a workout or two.

Saturday I did a great workout which absolutely killed me:

The Workout:

As many rounds in 20 minutes as possible of: 10 push ups, 15 leg lifts, 25 squats, 5 pull ups.

I lost count but I'm pretty sure I was able to do 11 rounds of this absolutely brutal cycle. These type of workouts are very similar to those found on the CrossFit website. When you're short on time or equipment, these are a great way to get a full body workout. When you do these workouts make sure you push yourself as hard as possible. I took virtually no breaks during the 20 minute workout. I was a bit light headed, and my heart was pounding at the end, but it felt great. Doing these workouts with a partner also helps keep you motivated. I did this workout with my dad. He wasn't able to keep up with my pace, but challenging myself to do more cycles then him was great motivation.

Nutrition: I've been eating a lot of fruit, egg whites, and weight watchers bread for breakfast. I'm still eating between 1350-1450 calories a day. I'm consuming 100+ grams of protein per day. This amount of protein is mostly attained by drinking milk, eating tuna, chicken, whey protein, and occasionally lean beef. A can of tuna has around 25grams of protein in it and only contains 100-120 calories. A can of tuna on weight watchers bread is a great, filling, low calorie meal which will give you sustained energy.

Remember: avoid excess sugar, eat lots of fruit and vegies, and drink a lot of water! On occasion when I do have something with sugar in it, I find that I can only eat a little bit and then I feel full. It's relatively easy to train your body to crave healthy food and to detest unhealthy food.

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Daily Inspiration: Don't let the scale dictate your happiness. If you want to lose weight think of it as losing %body fat. While calculating your body fat at home isn't as accurate as having it done professionaly, using the same method and measurement points can give you a good idea of your progress. Body fat calculators such as the one provided in the link are a great way to track your progress. I initially experienced weight loss while working out, but because I'm gaining a lot of muscle my weight has actually increased. While this was initially discouraging a quick look in the mirror showed that my stomach is getting much skinnier, and my muscles are starting to get some definition. Water weight also fluctuates greatly throughout a person's day and even week, so don't let one weigh in change your mood.

Stay consistent, stay positive, and set attainable goals: If you want to lose 10 pounds then you can. Just set small goals such as "I want to lose 5 pounds by the end of the August." With dieting and exercise this goal should be very attainable. Once you've lost 5 then set a new goal and go for the next five. Stay realistic, if you have 25% body fat then you can't expect to have a six pack in 2 months. Instead aim for 20% body fat within the next two months, and work your way down to the 10-12% you need to get a six pack. It's great to keep the final goal in mind while you workout, but to help you reach your ultimate goal, set up smaller points which you can reach.

Stop making excuses: As that youtube video so clearly illustrates, there's an excuse for everything. If you truly want to change your body then stop making excuses. Yes we are all aware that some body types promote the perfect figure, rapid muscle gain, or easy weight loss. For the rest of the world we have to work. Personally I've been blessed by the ability to quickly put on muscle, however fat on my stomach and sides has always plagued me. Yes, this is part of my body type, but I'm losing fat and making progress through hard work and good choices. At the end of the day your level of motivation WILL define your body. No one gets a scultped physique by sitting around on their couch 6 days a week and going to the gym once a week for an hour. If you find yourself looking at someone else and wishing you had their body, then start working and get it. There are remarkable, true stories, of body transformations that people have undergone without drugs, surgery, or eating disorders such as anorexia or bulemia. The key ingredients are perseverence, hard work, and patience.

Set goals, reach your goals, set more.

June 19th, 2009

Today's nutrition was pretty non-descript so won't get into that today. I had an excellent workout today. My workout focused on pecks and back. I also did my usual 45 minutes of cardio.

The Workout

I started off with a brief session on the stair stepper doing intervals-100 calories burned. I then spent about 10 minutes on the elliptical just to get nice and warmed up-60 calories. After this I did my main cardio workout which consisted of a 20 minute interval run jog-200 calories. I also rowed 1000 meters on the concept-II rowing machine-60 calories.

For back I did lat pull downs, as well as seated rows. I did 5 sets on each and they felt pretty good. Today I wanted to max bench so I started at 135 and worked my way up. My previous personal record was 195 pounds, today I hit 205! I'm trying to bench 225 by the end of the summer, and I feel like I'm well on my way to doing so. I also did dumbell press to further work my pecks using 65 pound dumbells.

I'll be taking the weekend off to rest and recover, then it's back to the gym on Monday!
-Mike

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Daily inspiration: Cutting all drinks out of your life (alcohol, soda, coffee, etc) and just sticking with water and milk can help you lose weight. It's a relatively easy transition (which I've made) and it really helps save the calories. Spend your calories on good, nutritious meals which fill you up, not on junk like soda! With proper dieting and moderate workouts three times a week you can easily lose a pound or more per week!

June 18th, 2009

Well today I had a very difficult workout. But before I get to that I'll go through my nutrition for the day. I got up late today so I didn't actually eat until 12:00. I made egg whites with weight watchers, whole wheat bread. This is a great breakfast combination as it provides lots of carbs and protein. I also had some cantelope to top off my breakfast. I snacked on some almonds and a few whole wheat goldfish in the afternoon before I went to the gym.

The Workout

To start out I did a 7 mile interval workout on the bike. I kept my hr between 160-170 and burned about 210 calories during the 22 minute workout. After I biked I did an extensive bicep and tricep workout, then I moved on to abs. Today I really wanted to exhaust my abs so I did a pretty lengthy workout. I did super sets of leg lifts, plank on the swiss ball, side planks, and a type of leg lift where after you lift your legs, you lift your whole torso off of the ground. In total I spent about 25 minutes working my abs. I also did some lateral raises to work on my deltoid muscles.

For dinner I grilled some chicken and made a guacamole salad. This meal was both delicious and nutricious. I also had some whey protein today to get the amount of protein I needed.

It's around 10:30pm now and I'm feeling pretty tired. The workout today really exhausted me, but it felt good. As my body gets in better shape I definitely feel an overall energy boost.
-Mike

June 17th, 2009

Well today went well. I hit my dietary goals and had a good workout.

The workout

Today I didn't have time to go to the gym so I did a short, but intense, workout at home.

This workout was a 35 minute workout where I tried to complete as many rounds as possible of:
10 push ups, 15 prisoner squats, 10 leg lifts, 15 jumping jacks, and a 30 second plank. I managed to complete 13 rounds in the 35 minutes. While this may not seem like a lot, the continuous nature of the exercises keeps your heart rate up (mine was over 170 for most of the workout) which is optimal for burning a lot of calories. I feel drained but excellent after my workout.

Tomorrow I'm feeling a nice long gym session. I think I'm going to bike, do triceps, biceps, and deltoids. I also plan on doing a very strenuous abdominal workout.
-Mike

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Daily Inspiration: This man lost 70 pounds in 6 months and got in really good shape. It's a short youtube video, but I find these very motivating.

70 pounds in 6 months

June, 15th 2009

Well this weekend I didn't workout at all, but I stayed pretty close to my calorie goals. I was away from my house so it made it a bit harder to stick to the exact 1450, but I did well. Saturday I hit my goal with no real issues, and Sunday I went over by about 200 calories. Nothing major, and I still feel great. People have been noticing my weight loss, so that's definitely been encouraging. Today I'm right on track with my calories, and I plan on staying well within my range. Tomorrow it's back to the gym for more workouts.
I'm helping a number of people with their workout/weight loss programs right now, so if anyone needs tips or pointers feel free to post in the comments section. I'll address any issues or concerns the next time I post.
-Mike

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Daily Inspiration: Starting today I'm going to put up an inspirational story as often as I can, just to give you that extra motivation you need to keep up with your weightloss/workout program.

Last year, I realized I was overweight (198 pounds). The day after Christmas I began a rigid dieting and workout schedule. By mid-February I was down to 175 pounds! While this is definitely an extreme amount of weight loss, losing a lot of weight, quickly, is very possible. All you have to do is exercise, eat carefully, and stay patient.

June 12th, 2009

Well today I don't have any time to workout, but I'm doing well on my way to 1450 calories for the day. Today was weigh in day and I came in at 183.5. I've lost 1.5 pounds since last Friday! My arm size also increased from just under 14 inches to just under 14.5 inches.
-Mike

June 11th, 2009 Day 1 of my Blog - Support is welcomed!

Well today is the first day of this blog. I'm a 19 year old college student looking to get into excellent shape. I have a number of fitness goals which I'll be working towards. I'll update this blog as often as I can including my nutrition, progress, and workouts. Feel free to use any material I post, but do so at your own risk. I have done extensive research about dieting and working out, so I'm not just making this stuff up.

Here are a few websites that I use and I encourage you to check out yourselves!

Daily Burn, my fitness profile and body tracker

Crossfit: where I pull some of my workouts and inspiration from

As of last Friday (I'm 6' tall) I weighed in at 185lbs. That's after spending a solid two weeks in the gym. I'm currently dieting with a calorie limit of 1450 per day. I'm consuming at least 150 grams of protein per day and I'm limiting fat and sugar. My current body fat is at 20.6%.

My goals: lower my body fat to 10-12%, get a six pack, increase my overall fitness.

Any tips or suggestions you have along the way are welcomed.. I'm trying to go to the gym 4-5 times a week, and I'm dieting 7 days a week. I spread out my meals so I eat 5-7 times per day in small portions. Throughout this process I will not be using any supplements such as creatine, nor will I be using any steroids or performance enhancing drugs. If I reach my goals it will be through hard work and discipline.

Today's Workout: I was pressed for time today so I only had 30 minutes to workout. I decided to do a short, but high intensity workout, similar to one you might see on Crossfit. After warming up and stretching I tried to complete as many round as possible (in 20 minutes) of 10 push ups, 15 squats, and 15 leg lifts. I was able to complete 12 sets.

The workout was tiring and really got my heart rate up. Well that's it for day 1 of this blog.
-Mike

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Feel free to ask questions in the comment section regarding nutrition and workouts. I'll do my best to provide answers with sources!