12.8.10 update

So it's easiest if I just give you a link to the Men's Fitness Yearlong Workout:

http://www.mensfitness.com/ylw/fitness/workout_routines/574#workouts

Currently in phase II, today was Phase II/Week II/Workout II.

Also added some extra cardio in, starting with 20-25 min 3x/week. We'll see in a few weeks what the result is and adjust from there.

The big reason I wanted to post today was because I came up with a GREAT recovery shake:

1 cup quick oats

1 cup HOT water

1 tsp apple pie spice

1 packet Splenda w/ fiber

(let the above ingredients soak for a few minutes to soften the oats up)

1 cup skim milk

1 tsp creatine

1 scoop protein powder (Pro Complex from Optimum Nutrition)

3/4 C blueberries

1 banana

Mix everything up with a hand mixer until it's well blended and kinda of thick and creamy.

Here's why it's great-

Roughly 45g protein

About 120g carbohydrates

About 650 kcal, and a nice 3:1 ratio of carbs:protein

I also want to take about beta alanine.... it makes my hands itchy.

Supplements

Here's what I'm currently using:

GNC MegaMen Sport: http://www.gnc.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3293809

Optimum Nutrition Pro Complex: http://www.optimumnutrition.com/products/pro-complex-c-4.html?zenid=cdc96269765a55360f66051dd836cff5

USP Labs Jack3d: http://www.jack-3d.com/

BodyTech ZMA: http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/store/en/browse/sku_detail.jsp?id=VS-1859

As well as generic Fish Oil and Glucosamine-MSM supplements.

Monday 11/15

Ok. Yesterday's workout was kinda rough. I ran a bunch before hand and was pretty tired by the time I got to the gym, but here's what we did.

Squat: 4 sets of 5, worked a little lighter today because of the running, I worked at 155.

Pullups: Smashed my shoulder in my attic, so my left arm is still a little tender, I did lat pulldowns instead of pullups because my grip didn't feel very strong. Did 75 reps at setting of 12 (whatever that means)

Cable pullthrough: 4 sets- 12reps, 8reps, 6reps, 6reps.

Dumbbell bench press: 4 sets- 12 reps, 8reps, 6reps, 6 reps, all with 60lb dumbbells.

Bicycle crunch: 5 sets of 20

Sunday 11/14/10

So I've gotten pretty lazy about posting, that doesn't mean I've gotten lazy about going to the gym. I skipped this Friday's workout due to time constraints, but I will try and make up for it this week. Check back tomorrow for me to resume workout logs.

Also, I want to delve into nutrition and supplementation a bit, so hopefully that will come this week as well.

Nov. 1, 2010

Ok, so after a week of Insanity, I remembered the thing that I hated most about P90X. Working out in my living room is actually pretty miserable. Not only do I smash my hands against the ceiling every time I jump, but I'm covered in cat hair, my carpet is damp and my cat likes to try and work out with me, which becomes and ankle-twisting hazard. So... I'm shifting gears a little bit.

Menshealth.com has a program which is an entire year of workouts that appear to run in 4-week long phases (so like 13 phases).

Today I started phase 1. After running 1 mile to the gym, I went through the prescribe workout as follows:

Squats: 4 sets of 5 at 5-rep max (I used 195 as my working weight for today)
Pullups: As many sets as it takes to get to 50 pullups (I did 10 sets of 5)
Low cable pullthroughs: Set 1) 12-15 reps Set 2) 8-12 reps Set 3) 6 reps
Dumbbell bench press: 1) 12-15 reps 2) 8-12 reps 3) 6 reps
Ab bicycles: 4 sets of 20-25 reps (each side)

Followed by a plyometric circuit, which I skipped due to time constraints

Then I ran back home another mile.

All in all it was 1 hour 6 minutes and, according to my heart rate monitor, 700 kcal.
Max heart rate was 165, average was 124.

Day 2 (10/26/10)

Ok. Today was called "Plyometric Cardio Circuit".
It was 45 minutes total, but it was like 5 minutes warmup, 10 minutes stretch, 25 minutes of work, and a 5 minute stretch/cool down.

My heart rate peaked at 163. My max is about 193 (the general formula is 220 minus your age, so 220-27=193). This calculates to just about 85% max.
Perceived exertion was similar to calculated exertion, I rated the work at between 85% and 90%.

I definitely rode the pause button more that I'd really like to have, but I suppose that's to be expected.

Also, I'd like to note that my living room has a much greater cat hair content than the average gym. I guess that's the first downside.

See you tomorrow.

Day 1

I actually started Insanity yesterday, following the included workout calendar, and starting with a baseline fitness test. This test puts you through eight different exercises, each a minute in duration, and you're supposed to write down the number of reps of each exercise you're able to complete. Here are my baselines (and accompanying heart rate, where applicable)


# of reps HR
Switch Kicks: 47 150
Power Jacks: 33 161
Power Knee: 54 144
Power Jumps: 15 152
Globe Jumps: 8 148
Suicide Jumps: 8
Pushup Jacks: 15 135
Low plank oblique: 20 125

I realize that these exercise names mean nothing to just about everyone (they meant nothing to me prior to yesterday).

The purpose of this baseline test is to give me something to measure myself against. It looks like every couple of weeks they have you retake the same test and compare both your number of reps and your exertion levels to see your improvement.

In addition to the above baseline levels, on October 25, 2010 I was 226.0 lbs and 16.9% body fat (as measured by BioElectric Impedance Analysis).

My calculated daily caloric intake is 3,000 kcal (thus, I'm eating roughly 500 kcal, 6 times a day).

I will continue to post workout results for each one of the 60 days. I will include a rundown of some of the exercises, and my exertion level both in terms of heart rate (as measured with a Polar wireless heart rate monitor) and my "perceived exertion" (i.e. how hard out of a possible 100% capacity I feel that I am working).