Here's a look at what I did yesterday...
Deadlifts, 2 sets, 12 reps........................85lbs/12 reps 95lbs/12 reps
Alternating sets...
Dumbbell shoulder
press, 2 sets, 12 reps.....................30lbs/12 reps 30lbs/12 reps
Wide grip lat
pulldown, 2 sets, 12 reps.................50lbs/15 reps 60lbs/15 reps
Alternating sets...
Lunges, 2 sets, 12 reps...........................bw/12 reps 10lbs/12 reps
Swiss ball crunches, 2 sets, 10 reps.........bw/10 reps bw/10 reps
Most obvious difference: I almost doubled my weight load on nearly every exercise.
I feel like I am finally at that challenging point that I will actually be starting from. This is where my progress begins. Performing deadlifts with 50 lbs loaded onto the bar, I noticed my grip starting to give out before the rest of me, and today I have soreness in my hands and forearms. Last night I also noticed that those damned lunges are easy peasy now! As long as I don't hold my breath, I crank those babies out like a mad woman. However, I did bruise both my knees because I was so focused on getting low and pushing through the full range of motion that I knocked the floor a couple times. I wanted to do my lunges with 30 lbs last night (15 lbs in each hand) but my damn grip couldn't handle more than four reps on each leg. I might try holding the bar on my shoulder, technically making it more like split squats I reckon.
I'm pretty pleased with myself. I feel like I definitely will see changes in my body if I keep this up. One more week of two sets of 12, and then it's three sets of 10!
But ouch. I hurt from my neck and shoulders all the way down my back and into my butt.
Anyway, last night I finally found my handy-dandy tape measure. SCORE! After much searching online for a body fat percentage calculator I liked (one that took more than height, weight, and waist), I finally found one that seems pretty good. Whether or not it's super accurate, it gives me a baseline that I can work on at least, and that is more than I have right now.
I've decided to check my measurements using the above website on the 30th of each month. Right now, I'm more interested in lowering my body fat percentage and increasing lean mass than I am in losing weight just for the sake of lowering a number. I hope this turns out to be a fun way to track my progress.
Last night, it put me at 28.8% with a +/- 2% range for error. For the sake of humbling myself, I'm going to go ahead and round up to 30.8% body fat and take it from there. My first goal is to reach the healthy range of 20%-25%. According to this other website, if I gain 2 lbs of lean mass and shoot for a target of 25% body fat, I can probably accomplish that around 199 lbs. Or, if I don't gain any lean mass and keep the exact same amount as I have now, it will be around 196 lbs.
Okay. Here I go!!!
Deadlifts, 2 sets, 12 reps........................85lbs/12 reps 95lbs/12 reps
Alternating sets...
Dumbbell shoulder
press, 2 sets, 12 reps.....................30lbs/12 reps 30lbs/12 reps
Wide grip lat
pulldown, 2 sets, 12 reps.................50lbs/15 reps 60lbs/15 reps
Alternating sets...
Lunges, 2 sets, 12 reps...........................bw/12 reps 10lbs/12 reps
Swiss ball crunches, 2 sets, 10 reps.........bw/10 reps bw/10 reps
Most obvious difference: I almost doubled my weight load on nearly every exercise.
I feel like I am finally at that challenging point that I will actually be starting from. This is where my progress begins. Performing deadlifts with 50 lbs loaded onto the bar, I noticed my grip starting to give out before the rest of me, and today I have soreness in my hands and forearms. Last night I also noticed that those damned lunges are easy peasy now! As long as I don't hold my breath, I crank those babies out like a mad woman. However, I did bruise both my knees because I was so focused on getting low and pushing through the full range of motion that I knocked the floor a couple times. I wanted to do my lunges with 30 lbs last night (15 lbs in each hand) but my damn grip couldn't handle more than four reps on each leg. I might try holding the bar on my shoulder, technically making it more like split squats I reckon.
I'm pretty pleased with myself. I feel like I definitely will see changes in my body if I keep this up. One more week of two sets of 12, and then it's three sets of 10!
But ouch. I hurt from my neck and shoulders all the way down my back and into my butt.
Anyway, last night I finally found my handy-dandy tape measure. SCORE! After much searching online for a body fat percentage calculator I liked (one that took more than height, weight, and waist), I finally found one that seems pretty good. Whether or not it's super accurate, it gives me a baseline that I can work on at least, and that is more than I have right now.
I've decided to check my measurements using the above website on the 30th of each month. Right now, I'm more interested in lowering my body fat percentage and increasing lean mass than I am in losing weight just for the sake of lowering a number. I hope this turns out to be a fun way to track my progress.
Last night, it put me at 28.8% with a +/- 2% range for error. For the sake of humbling myself, I'm going to go ahead and round up to 30.8% body fat and take it from there. My first goal is to reach the healthy range of 20%-25%. According to this other website, if I gain 2 lbs of lean mass and shoot for a target of 25% body fat, I can probably accomplish that around 199 lbs. Or, if I don't gain any lean mass and keep the exact same amount as I have now, it will be around 196 lbs.
Okay. Here I go!!!
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