Whoo hoo, I need new pants!

Sorry for the lack of updates, too much going on.

So, in the past month, I've started going to a proper gym, at the Conestoga College recreation center. Its a good gym that I've used in the past (when I was a student there) and it's on my way home from work so its easy for me to get to. What a difference! I have to tell you, if you are planning on doing a program like this by just working out at home, forget it, its not going to work. There is simply too many distractions, not enough equipment and no "vibe". Working out with other people in the room just gives you focus and energy, even if you are just ignoring them and going about your business. Trying to focus alone in a dark basement, with a single bench and a few dumbells just goes nowhere.

I've been tracking my progress in the gym based on a points system that is described in my training plan. The only way to increase muscle is to increase the demands placed on it regularly. To do this, for each excercise I multiply my reps, sets and weights together, to get a "total poundage" value. (eg: 5 sets of 5 reps with 25 pounds would be 625 lbs total). To ensure I continue to gain, I have to beat my last "high score", either by doing more weight or more reps. I work to do all of the reps prescribed in my plan and once I can do that, I up the weight. This will ususally force me to fail before I do all the reps, but my total score will still be higher. If you have a gamer mentality like me its easy to treat training as another challenge to beat your high score for each excercise.

Diet is starting to come along too. I've got an ace in the hole now, because Melanie has taken a job at GNC! Woot, cheap / free supplements! She gets all kinds of free samples that she brings home for me. Plus, its an assistant manager position, so shes working a full 40 hour week, which will bring us out of our financial slump. More money = more grocery money = more food. Extra bonus! So things are really looking up in that aspect. I'm trying to keep closer tabs on what I'm eating daily using a calorie counter program. I'm still not quit at 4000 on a typical day, but its getting closer.

And the best news?

My scale is a peice of crap! Hooray! Why is that good news? Because whenever I weighed myself I was constantly going up and down between 150 and 153, it never seemed to change much over several weeks. But then I weighed myself at my parents house and their scale said 159!! So to get to the bottom of this I weighed myself on the professional hospital-grade scale at Melanies work (the kind with the sliding weights that have been properly calibrated) and sure enough it said 158. I've gained 10 lbs! My crappy scale just wasn't telling me. Its starting to become noticable, not only to me but to other people. A friend of mine mentioned that he thought I was filling out, and that my neck was thicker.

So all good signs, and its getting more and more serious as I progress. I'm targeting 170 by my birthday, and I have a month and a Half to gain approx 10 lbs. I've been told 2 lbs/week is doable so we'll see, but I have to go full out from here on. I've only been managing to get to the gym for 2 of my 3 perscribed workouts since I started there, so I have to get my schedule in place to get there for all three days.

I'll get some progress photos taken and post them soon.

More to come.

Losing steam, need more fuel for the fire

Well, I seem to have stalled at about 153lbs. At one point I was down to 150.5 and that scared me. Still struggling to get a consistent schedule down. Shakes are my saving grace and I've tried adding more calorie dense foods to my diet, like peanut butter and flax oil. I'm working very late quite often lately that thats screwing me up. I try to get up and workout first thing in the morning but I've never been a morning person and most of the time I just wind up back in bed until I'm supposed to leave for work, then miss breakfast too. I have to take it to the next level. I think its time to get a gym membership.

I've been working out on Saturdays at my wifes work (a Personal Training Studio) and I find my workouts are far more focussed and productive. So far, Saturday mornings are all I've been getting in terms of workouts for the past few weeks, and I just find that in my basement, there is too much distraction and not enough equipment. I mean, the couch is right next to my bench, its too easy to just flop down when I get a little tired. I'm going to get a year membership at my old College gym, since I get an alumni discount, and I pass by it every day on my way home from work.

Still targeting 155 by the end of September

Currently 153.5

More to come

Succeeding despite my worst efforts

I don't know what it is, maybe its my mind set, maybe its fate, maybe its just my time, but dammit, I'm gaining weight. You might be saying "But I thought that was the whole idea". Well it is, but you see, lately I've been screwing up my plan left right and centre. I've missed half my workouts, my meals are sub par and I could use more rest, but as of this writing, I'm 153.5 pounds (on average). This is the most I've ever weighed in my life, and I'm really just "Half Assing" it. Its always in the back of my mind, that I have to try harder, and its wavering between highs and lows of trying real hard one week and totally screwing it up the next. But its not over, not by a long shot, I just have to keep pushing until its a full blown habit: proper diet, rest and exercise. I beat my first target: to be over 150 pounds by the beginning of August. I haven't weighed under 152 since then, and most of the time I'm around 153 to 154. My next target - 155 by the start of September. I have three weeks to get it in gear and push myself.

People have actually started to notice that extra 5 pounds. My aunts, uncles and cousins who I haven't seen since Christmas get together every year at the family cottage, and they noticed. I got several "Gee, your really filling out" or "you're getting bigger, Ty". I couldn't belive it. Even I notice a slight difference, especially in my shoulders. But I have to push myself again. These last few weeks have been rough due to my social and emotional state, I just haven't had it in me. Other things in my life are draining me of my spirit, and I have to push through them and get back on course, otherwise, 5 pounds is all I'll get, and I know I can do better than that.

Heres pushing for those extra 2 pounds to reach 155 in the next 3 weeks. Heres where I'm hoping to be

September - 155
October - 157
November - 160
December - 163

Those don't seem like big jumps, but trust me, if I'm 163 by December I'll plain ol shit mahself. I cannot fathom what I will look like at that weight. But maybe thats the key: visualizing. Since I started, I visualize myself being big. I strut around when no one is looking with my arms bowed out like my lats are so big that I can't put my arms at my sides, and my chest stuck out and I just imagine being huge. It sounds silly but you'd be supprised what it does for your motivation.

Time to have dinner and get my workout on.

More to come...

Screeching Halt

Not good. Due to my ridiculous work schedule over the past 2 weeks my training and diet have completely collapsed. Several of my jobs have deadlines that are coming up at roughly the same time (right after my holidays no less). So I've been working 12 (or more) hours per day every weekday to try and get it all done before my vacation.........so that I can even have a vacation! The problem has been that I've had at least 8 hours of solid work to do in the office every day, but then I have to be on site all day too, which means when I'm done on site I go straight back to the office until 9 or 10 at night. Therefore I get home around 10 or 11 and have no time or energy to workout. I was lucky to get one workout in all week the past 2 weeks. Luckily I did get to prep for my big MS Bikeride at the end of August by riding from Kitchener to my inlaws in Delhi; a 60km trip, so that was a great leg workout.

My diet took a beating because of all the site work, its very hard to bring enough food around with you all day, and then pry yourself away from working with clients to eat. I managed to get a few shakes in when I could, but all in all no where near where I should have been. The other problem comes from budetary concerns, ie: I have no money. We have a limited grocery budget each week and with my diet, when I eat a lot, its goes quick, meaning near the end of the week when I open the fridge there isn't much to choose from. It will have to be this way until my wife is back working her normal hours and she can contribute to the grocery budget the way she used to. This way we'll have her money (which used to cover us before my diet) and my added money (which is all we have at the moment) which should be more than enough.

My goal next week (during my week off) is to get back on track. I'll have all the time in the world to workout, rest, cook and get well prepared for the coming weeks.

I realize that my lifestyle is not particularily condusive to bodybuilding and that shit happens, I'll just have to deal with it, pull up my pants and keep on trucking. Just because these last two weeks went poorly is no reason to pack it in already, thats what always went wrong every other time I tried a workout routine: it would go fine, something would get in the way, but when it was gone I didn't keep going. Not this time.

Current weight: Fluctuating between 152 and 149.5.

"You can only see obstacles if you take your eyes off the prize"

More to come.

The Going Gets Tough

Its week three and I'm already getting hit with some major challenges. Last week wasn't too bad in terms of my diet (I messed up a few days but managed to keep a higher than normal caloric intake) and got more workouts in and with higher intensity than the week before. Plus, I'm already starting to weigh in over 150! The other day, I was at 151. Yesterday, I was back at 149, but that was first thing in the morning, the time when most people weigh the least, so thats a good sign.

I have some trouble ahead though. Work this week is going to be very very taxing. My entire week was already full, but then my schedule changed so that I'm on site work every day! That means I have to be back in the office to finish the work I was originally going to do every night, until who knows what ungodly hour. This means, no structured lunches in the office, becuase I'll be doing site work all day. Then no home cooked meals at night because I'll be in the office all night. Not to mention the amount of time this will cut into my workout schedule (if I can get any workouts in at all!) and will mess up my sleep patterns.

I'm not sure what to do. I think I'll have to get my workouts in first thing in the morning, as I'll likely be working all night every night. Then I'll need to bring at least 3 shakes with me, and one whole meal. Lunch is usually provided when I work at this one site that I'm going to, its it almost always at the same mediterranean place, that serves a big lunch and is quite healthy. I can have a shake in between breakfast at home, and lunch at site, and just chug it while I'm working, then another after lunch and before I head to the office. Then I'll have dinner at the office, and the last shake before I go home. I just hope I have enough shake powder left to last me this long, as I don't have any money yet to get more. I'll just have to make due with what I have.

Today was pretty bad, as I had a client meeting, and only have managed 3 meals so far............and a donut.............bad bad donut.

I just hope I don't come down with the cold that my wife has, thats the last thing I need right now.

Can't lose that 1 pound I've already gained!!

More to come.

The first week

The first week of my diet and training program went well, but not without problems (as would be expected). Prepare for a long rant:

Firstly, the diet has to be viewed as a training program of its own. You don't go from eating 4 smallish meals a day (as I was accustomed to), to eating 6 HUGE meals a day, overnight. I also discovered that certain things are easier to eat than others. The shakes are very satisfying and just go straight down. They are comprised of pure whey powder, low fat plain yogurt, oatmeal, milk and frozen fruit. They taste much better than the prepowdered MRPs (although the oatmeal makes them somewhat "grainy") and they leave me feeling full and satisfied. The major difference is that when I was using the MRPs before, I was using about 2 scoops and about 500ml of water (fills a tall glass). Now when I blend the new shakes up in the blender, I'm expected to just basically pick up the blender and down the whole thing!! Currently I'm only able to drink 3/4 of that, so I make a little extra, divide it up into two servings; pour one into a large shaker container and drink the rest right away. It's still probably 3 times what I was having before.

Days in the office are easy, because I bring small tupperware containers of fruit, yogurt, applesauce, unsalted peanuts, almonds and cottage cheeze, and just eat at my desk at about 9:00. The real challenge is going to come when I have to do site work. I know I'm going to have to rely on shakes a lot these days, because sometimes during an installation (I do on site control systems installations and testing, which can be long, very busy days), I would go the entire day without eating a thing, just because I was so busy and focused on my work I wouldn't even realize I was starving. Its going to be these days that I have to be really prepared, and remember to stop for a minute, chug a shake, and then keep on keepin' on. I don't have one of these days on my schedule for a while yet, but they'll be coming soon.

The excersize routine has started out with the first month being a series of prep sessions, focussing on building stamina and flexibility and being based mostly on body weight type sets (pushups, pullups, etc). The main thing I'm finding doing these routines is that they are much longer than anything I'm used to. The last program I was on had a simple 3 muscle group, 3 excersize system. This one has less sets of each, but all in all something like 15 to 20 excersizes to accomplish in an hour. I'm finding my stamina is poor, and by about 3/4 of the way in, I'm exhausted. I suppose this can be expected, but I should recruit my wife (who, did I mention has been a personal trainer for over 8 months now) to whip my ass (and not in the fun way).

Weekends are another matter. I was still tired on Saturday from my workout on friday (the program has 4 training days, so two days are back to back) and Saturday's workout was really half assed, as I had not fully recovered. Really, I should not have attempted it in that state.

Getting the workouts into my schedule was easy, but my diet is going to be a challenge on weekends. Much like my out-of-office days, I'm out and about or busy at home and just don't think of eating. Saturday, my buddy was over and we were working on his car. I kept losing track of time, and when I did remember that I had to eat I would say to myself "let me just finish pulling this wire" or "let me just finish mounthing this bracket first", until I realized at 4:00 I hadn't eaten since 10:00 and had to run inside and chug a shake (that I tried making with apple juice and vanilla protien powder, thinking it would taste like an apple pie with vanilla ice cream..............................not so much.) Sunday was even worse. My wife and I always go out for breakfast to one of those grimey 50's style all day breakfast places. I usually get the "Hungry Man" type of breakfast (eggs, bacon, ham, sausage, toast, home fries and french toast) and manage to eat almost the whole thing, then that lasts me the rest of the day (bad). This time my body kinda went "What the hell is this crap" and I felt crummy for most of the morning. I think in the short period of a week, while eating nutritious, whole foods, my body became accustomed to it. Then suddenly I jam all this deep fried, greasy fatty crap into my system and it goes into shock. Then we went out to see a movie (Transformers, for the second time) and I didn't eat until dinner, where I had a large Quiznos sub, which was filling, but I have a feeling, not that nutritionally complete. We wound up going grocery shopping after the movie for next weeks supplies, and didn't need nearly as much, as I still hadn't managed to finish everything from the previous weeks list.

Basically, the diet is easy on work days in the office because my day is structured in such a way I can eat when I need to. I need to come up with a way to stay on track on days when I have no structure. I was thinking about getting another Ironman Datalink watch. I used one of these a while ago (the old one that you program by putting up to a CRT screen) and had it go off every 3 hours to remind me to eat. But it got old and the battery kept crapping out, plus you can't program them through an LCD screen. I think I'll invest in one of the new USB models, so I can program it to remind me to eat at the specific times I need to be eating, even when I'm too busy to remember myself.

Anywho, we'll see what Week 2 has in store.

More to come.

Goals

I thought maybe it would be a good idea to set out my timelines and goals that I hope to achieve over the next half year or so. This way I have something firm that I can shoot for, something more defined than just "get bigger". Some things I'm hoping to accomplish:

1) "To weigh in consistently over 150 lbs by August." - Currently I fluctuate between 145 and 149 lbs depending on the time of day and what I've eaten. I'd like to constantly weigh over 150 lbs, even if its only 151 lbs. Meaning I need to add about 5 lbs on within the next month. I figure just with the diet alone, that should help get me up there. I mean come on, 3000+ calories a day, every day............SOMETHING has got to stick to me on its way through.

2) "Fill in the Hole" - This is referring to the hole in my chest caused by the pectus excavatum. The only way to truly fix it is with surgery called the Nuss procedure, which is considered basically cosmetic for me and not covered under OHIP, and is therefore most likely way out of my price range. I'd rather do it naturally if i can. As you will see from the pictures, my chest slopes inward due to the flared ribs that jut out. I figure, if I can put on enough muscle on my chest, I can just "fill in the hole" so I look normal. Therefore I will be putting particular emphasis on my pecs when it comes to training.

I Googled "Pectus" and "Bodybuilding" and actually found quite a few guys, who had pectus just as bad as me, and now are quite large and you can hardly tell they have funnel chest. There is hope.

3) "Move up a notch on my watch" - My watchband practically needs a new hole cut in it because my wrists are to thin, it's still loose on the very last hole. I have pretty big hands with long fingers too, which makes my hands look like 5 hotdogs stuck to the end of a skewer. I want to fill out my forearms so that they look more in proportion to my hands. One noth equals about a centimeter of extra diameter around my wrists.

4) "Weigh 170 Pounds by my Birthday" - My birthday is 6 months away. I need 20 lbs more. Think I can make it?

I'm writing this as I'm having lunch...............oooooooooh, so much chili.

More to come