No, that is not a pic of me, but I do feel like I look like that guy at times. When a co-worker started a "Biggest Loser" pool I decided I would give it a go. I could use $150 for some 40k and would benefit from regaining some muscle and losing some fat.
I learned from using the internet over the last few years that it is almost worthless to post any past athletic achievements, as it appears most everyone is a physical specimen on the web. So, I will try hard to not post about things "I used to be able to do back in the day." I will just stick to the present.
The pool started March 24, 2011 and will run until June 24, 2011. My starting body weight was 273 (I was even heavier in February 282). I plan to lose between 40 and 50 lbs. The winner is the person with highest body weight percentage lost to keep things fair. We are in week three, with a weigh in each week. Week one I lost 0lbs, which sucked. week two I lost 3.5lbs.
Some of the things I am doing are; no more pop, no snacks (other than a few lightly salted peanuts), big breakfast, big lunch, very small dinner, and exercise 4-6 times per week. I am hitting the weights on a loose schedule. I mix up the sets and reps and exercises to keep my body off balance and am slowly increasing the intensity of my sets to match my limited recovery. I work body parts that are not sore.
Sunday was a good cardio day. I completed 20 minutes on the elliptical for 1.0 mile and I completed a 5k run program on the treadmill. I say "completed the program" because I walked and ran to tolerance, completing the 5k in about 45 minutes...not exactly blazing speed...but I did not stop until done.
Monday I worked chest and back...my favorite, so I do it less often than other workouts. One thing I have learned; If you want to get stronger and build mass the quickest, keep to the gross exercises and work the largest muscle groups. This means do exercises like squats, dead lifts, cleans, pull ups, dips, bent over rows, etc. Keep reps 8-12 and use good form. The biggest muscle groups on your body are in your legs and back. You may be tempted to work your arms, but keeping to the gross or multi joint exercises will produce more overall results faster than say bicep curls or triceps pushdowns.
So what do I do for chest and back...not much really as I tend to really want to focus on chest and arms, so I have to limit myself. I worked up from 65 lb to 85 lb dumbbell chest presses, Incline smith machine presses, and dips. Back was bent over rows (I dead lifted Sat), seated rows, and shoulder shrugs.
It feels good to be muscle sore again and after about 1 month of steady workouts I am at the point I look forward to hitting the gym instead of forcing myself to go.
No comments:
Post a Comment