My Plan for the Summer

Life has not been going so well for me as of late, but I've still been going to the gym. My goal was to be "ho-ready" for a summer in China, in the words of YouTube's Chris Jones of Physiques of Greatness, but it looks like I'm stuck in America for the foreseeable future. This does not stop me from trying to improve my body and increase my strength.

While I am here in my hometown with access to a cheap, but effective gym membership, I plan to lift at least five times a week. So far, I have been accomplishing this goal. I have been doing more dropsets, lifting heavy and constantly trying to increase the amount of weight that I move each week. I am shooting to do three to five reps with heavy weight, then drop down and do six to eight reps right after with the usual weight that I'd move for maintenance. I am seeing great results with muscular growth and definition so far, and psychologically it feels great to know that I am increasing my strength.

Aside from lifting, I have continued with my heavy bag workouts for cardio, and I will be getting back into boxing soon. Also, while I was apprehensive to do so at first due to its feminized nature, I have begun taking Zumba classes once a week. This has been helping me with my flexibility to a degree, provides a great full-body workout, is good cardio, and it gives me something new to learn that I might be able to teach abroad if I master it. If I were into Latinas I'd certainly enjoy the eye candy there too.

If anything exciting comes up, I'll be sure to blog about it here, but for the time being it's business as usual.

The Price of Supps in China

As you may know, I did not get enough lifting done in China once I left Guangzhou, but when I did lift, I wasn't taking supplements. Here in the States, I usually take whey isolate after each workout, but in the Middle Kingdom I would just have a post workout meal. Whey protein supplements are not a necessity, especially for the average Joe that just wants to be fit and healthy, provided that they get all of their macros that they need to grow.

The primary deterrent that stopped me from using supplements when I was in China was the cost. In Hong Kong, GNC products were about twice as expensive as they are in the United States of America. In Mainland China, or at least in Guangzhou, the prices of supplements were about one-and-a-half times as expensive as they are in America, based on the assumption that whey protein with Yao Ming on the tub is the same quality as the stuff that I take in America. Since I couldn't read all of the ingredients, and didn't want to come out of pocket, I passed up on it. Sure, the American companies may be lying to us too, but I feel a bit more assured if I can at least read what should be in the product.

Having post-workout meals was a much cheaper alternative, and can be cheaper here in the States too, depending on the brand of supplements that one chooses to use, and the food that they choose to eat. The benefit of supplements for me is that they save time. Since I like to workout before work, it is a lot quicker for me to just make a protein shake and get going versus heating up or preparing a post-workout meal.

It is believed (at least in bro-science) that the human body can absorb whey protein quicker than it can absorb protein from foods. Personally, I have not noticed this, and I feel healthier eating food as compared to taking whey in powder form. I seem to make muscular gainz just as long as I lift, ingest some form of protein after I workout, make sure to eat throughout the day, and get proper rest. At the end of the day, just do what works best for your body and finances.

Will Masturbation Kill Your Gainz?

Masturbation has been known to cause blindness, hairy palms, and warts, but inquiring minds want to know if spanking the monkey will make you lose your muscular gains. There have been numerous studies on the subject, but to this date, there is no concrete evidence supporting the theory that firing off a few knuckle children will make you lose muscle. I am of the belief that beating your meat will not cause muscle tissue to break down.

Firstly, you cannot expect to lose your gainz overnight. Just like you won't get jacked after one day at the gym, you cannot expect to become a skeleton after jacking one time. Any theory that states this is preposterous. You would probably have to make a habit out of beating your meat dozens of times a day to see any visible changes (aside from a possible and small increase of forearm mass) that directly correlate to masturbation.

Secondly, let's break down the calories. Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell were right: "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing", since a half-hour of real sex would burn about a hundred or so calories on average. This is only half as many calories as one could expect jogging for the same duration of time. Now, if you are only burning around a hundred calories with all of the muscle groups that you are recruiting (especially if you're doing it correctly like the Admiral does), then you cannot expect to burn enough to go into a caloric deficit going solo.

Like many things in life, physiques are not built or destroyed in a vacuum. Masturbation alone will not effect your physique that much; it would likely be habits revolving around masturbation that would effect your gainz. For instance, if you stay up late to do the deed, you might not be getting adequate rest for your body to recover and grow. If you masturbate so much that you don't eat enough, or if it cuts into time that you should be getting real exercise hitting the gym, then your body isn't getting what it needs to grow (and you may want to seek help). The same things can apply to real sex too though, like the guy that spends all of his nights drinking in clubs to get that tang. The sex itself is not what is doing damage, but the habits around it.

Personally speaking, masturbation does not completely sap me of energy, but it would cause me to waste a lot of time trying to fire one off. This is time better spent exercising, or working on developing entrepreneurial skills. Real sex, on the other hand, is often invigorating. This is probably psychological in my case, since a conquest makes me want to conquer more, leapfrogging from victory to victory.

Why Are So Many Vegetarians Still Fat?

Vegetarian and vegan diets are becoming more popular these days. Some people may choose these lifestyles due to personal taste, others due to consciousness of the treatment of animals at farms, others to join social bandwagons and feel "holier-than-thou", and others due to necessity. However, many people choose vegetarian or vegan diets in order to lose weight and slim down. If you fall into this latter category, then this article is just for you.

Aside from aging and genetic factors, there are few reasons why a person on a vegetarian diet should remain fat (or in some cases, get fatter). The problem is other lifestyle choices which make it hard to shed the pounds. Cutting meat alone will not guarantee weight-loss success, and in some cases (if you are not a conscientious objector to including meat in your diet), eating a portion of meat would be healthier than some of the choices that vegetarians make. Here are some lifestyle choices that you might want to reconsider if you are a vegetarian that is having a hard time slimming down:

Watch What You Drink

So you have cut meat out of your diet. Good for you, but are you sitting in coffee shops with the holier-than-thou hipster crowd? Are you sipping on fattening lattes? Sure, there isn't any meat in a latte, but they might still be loaded with empty calories (particularly with all of the extras). You may want to cut back on lattes, as well as soda, store-bought smoothies, and other sugar-filled drinks. Having one once in a while probably won't hurt too much, but if you make it an everyday habit, you probably won't be losing fat anytime soon.

There are 150 or more calories to make you fat in these.

Taste Makes Waste

Everyone likes food that tastes good, but some of our methods to make food taste good are not conducive to reaching our fitness goals. Broccoli smothered in cheese sauce, or carrots dipped in blackened ranch are 100% meat-free, but but those extra toppings add a tremendous amount of calories. Instead of adding all of the extras, try to find a way to mix vegetables together to make them suitable for your palate. If you cannot go without the extras, then try to find low-fat alternatives, or experiment with recipes of your own so you will know exactly what you will be consuming.

Lack of Protein

It is important to make sure that you are getting the right amount of protein, especially if you are trying to build muscle. Protein increases your metabolism since your body has to burn more calories digesting it. This includes non-meat sources of protein such as nuts or beans. Protein is also important in building and maintaining muscle, and as you may know, muscle mass increases one's metabolic rate, even when at rest. Finally, protein can help to reduce the feeling of hunger more effectively than carbohydrates, which can reduce the desire to overeat.

Exercise, Exercise, Exercise!

If you want to lose weight, you are going to have to get on a caloric deficit. This means that you must burn more calories than you take in. If you cannot do this with diet alone, then you will have to exercise to burn off those excess calories. Exercise can also help you to build muscle, which makes it easier to keep the fat off due to the increase in metabolism that muscle provides, as previously stated.

Whether you are a meat-eater or not, basic lifestyle changes will be necessary if you are serious about losing weight. Eating vegetables just to brag to your friends and feel smug is the same as going to the gym without getting on a treadmill or picking up a single weight, and will not get you the results that you desire.

Can Taking a Good Dump Alter Your Mind and Body?

When I was but a wee lad, I went to a petting zoo at the county fair. I recall that the goats, pigs, calves, (I don't quite remember all of the animals that they had, maybe seals or something) all came up to me, eager to be petted. There was only one animal in the bunch that did not seem to want to be bothered: a mallard duck.

Every time I tried to approach the duck, it would angrily quack and run away from me. This behavior continued until it released a huge pile of feces. The duck then ran up to me, wanting to be petted along with the rest of its cohorts. Of course, I didn't want to pet the duck anymore after it dropped a deuce, but this episode shows that having a clear digestive tract can alter mood (either that or the duck was trained well enough not to poo on customers).

Personally, I feel much better after voiding my bowels. Having lots of festering food stuck in my intestines causes me to feel sluggish, and in many cases, aggravated. After releasing, I am ready to take on the world once more with increased jubilation. This is why it is important to drink plenty of water and increase fiber intake to cleanse our colons. Not only will we improve our outlook and energy level, but we also decrease the risk of digestive disorders such as cancer or Crohn's disease.

Gym Experiences in China Part 1

I'm back in America, and one of the things that I missed about being in the States is my local gym. I've been back at it for about two weeks now, and I'm getting much of my strength and muscle mass back. For the time being, I am on a four-day split, but I hope to get back to a five-day split by the end of next month if my schedule allows it.

Of the three cities that I went to in China, Guangzhou probably has the best gym culture. I visited three different gyms in the Panyu District of Guangzhou, and they all had decent rates and equipment. Unfortunately, the names were all in Chinese or Chinglish, and I didn't note the addresses (I just memorized landmarks in the areas to walk there).

The first gym was about five minutes away from the hotel that I was staying at (assuming lulls in traffic which would allow me to cross the street). It was on the fifth floor of a shopping complex that included a grocery store, so one could effectively pick up their post-workout meals right after lifting. This facility was easily the best of the three, and had redundant weight machines, dumbbells up to 70 kg (that's a bit over 150 pounds), loads of treadmills and other cardio machines, heavy bags, and a boxing ring. This gym really appealed to me because I wanted to get into boxing overseas. Unfortunately, I seemed to be the only person into boxing when I was there, so that didn't become a reality. This gym was the most expensive to purchase a weekly membership at, but had I stayed for a year, I could have gotten in on a special which would have made it the cheapest.

The other two gyms that I visited were in the Panyu Friendship Square shopping center. Both of these gyms were smaller, but had an atmosphere that would appeal to people that are in the gym to do some serious lifting. Dumbbells went up to 100 kg (about 220 pounds; nobody touched these), and the machines, while old, were efficient. one of these gyms was about twice as expensive as the other, and all that they had on the cheaper gym was more treadmills and a single heavy bag. I opted for the cheaper gym at 200 RMB per week (yes, I know, your boy probably got cheated on that one).

This gym did not have air conditioning, so it was almost like working out in a sauna. The humid Guangzhou air made me sweat bullets after the first set. The atmosphere was almost like a dungeon as well due to the dim lights. Some people like dim lights at the gym, but I am used to having a brighter lighting scheme. This doesn't really bother me either way, as long as I can see what I'm doing, but it was a change.

Next time I will talk about some of the characters that I encountered and interacted with at the gym. Stay tuned!

10 Days a (Pseudo) Vegan in Taiwan

As you know if you have been following my other blog (that's right, all two of you), then you know that I have recently returned from a trip to China and Taiwan. By the time that I got to Taiwan, I had lost a lot of weight, and I was not in prime health. This is probably due to the air, the lack of exercise, and of course, the food. As delicious as the food tasted, it did not agree with my digestive tract all of the time.

After bidding farewell to Mainland, I spent about a week and a half with a good friend of mine in Taiwan. Since I wasn't in a position to complain, I adhered to a semi-vegan diet, given that my friend lives a vegan lifestyle. At first, I was skeptical that I would get enough macros to maintain an adequate level of energy, but I was surprised that I felt much more energetic eating little to no meat versus eating huge plates of beef or chicken. I felt much cleaner, and I bounced back from my sickness much quicker than I would with a meat-heavy diet.

Now, I did not do much physical exercise in Taiwan other than swimming, so I can't say that I would be able to lift on the diet that I enjoyed in Taiwan, but overall, I felt much healthier. Now that I am back in the States, meat is back on my plates, but I have been eating less of it and more fruits and vegetables. I probably won't bulk back up as quickly, but overall I feel more energetic, healthier, and cleaner, so it works out for the better. If I don't have the energy to hit the gym because I have a half-digested steak festering in my colon, then that protein doesn't go to making gainz (not muscular, at least), thus, it is a good trade-off.

I might go vegan for a week every two months to detoxify my digestive tract. Maybe I'll incorporate the vegan diet into my bulking and cutting cycles. I'll have to do more research on protein sources and recipes, but in reality, eating vegan (at least the way my friend does) can even be cost and time-effective too since one can just eat raw foods.

If I proceed with this dietary plan, I'll be sure to keep an account here.

Early Morning Non-Stop Workout

I decided to train shoulders and abs with a friend of mine that hits the gym right when it opens at 5:00 AM. I have been trying to reduce my resting periods in my exercise routines. For instance, if I am doing shoulder presses, I'll do my reps, then instead of sitting around for a moment like I used to, I will place a mat on the floor and I might do leg raises for thirty seconds to hit the abs, then get back in the chair and do another set of shoulder presses. This has helped me to condition myself without spending too much time doing cardio (not advocating people to skip cardio at all; I just prefer not to do it at the gym personally), and I am able to use my time at the gym more efficiently given my busy schedule.

Today was a bit different. My friend also likes to train without taking breaks in between sets, but rather than switching the targeted muscle like I do, he likes to train in a circuit, doing exercises that all hit the same muscle group back to back. Today, we did fours circuit of shoulder presses, shrugs, overhead dumbbell raises, lateral dumbbell raises, standing barbell rows, and cable raises. The only rest that we got was the time that it took to move on to the next station. About three-fourths of the way through the first circuit, I felt like I could not go on, but I pushed myself to at least do half of each set with no rest.

To finish things up, we did two circuits for abs. Each circuit consisted of thirty crunches, thirty leg raises, thirty flutter kicks, thirty bridges (also known as butt-raises), and thirty side twists with a ten-pound plate to hit the obliques. in these two circuit, I hit my three hundred reps that I like to do for abs during each workout, but since it was non-stop, it felt much more effective (or at least it made me feel sore much sooner).

I am certainly not at my friend's level yet, but maybe I will be with enough consistency. This type of workout plan seems excellent for building endurance as well as mental toughness, and will be of great value if and when I do get in the ring.

Fitness Goals for 2014

Another year has passed, and it is time to reflect upon last year's goals, and prepare for the goals of the next.

My goals for 2013 were a bit lofty, but I did accomplish some of them. I succeeded in working two muscle groups per workout at the gym, and I did increase my intensity and make strength gains in numerous exercises, particularly decline benching and T-bar rows. I also came very close to putting on the five pounds of muscle that I was looking for. It seems that I need to eat more, and I'll be tailoring a diet that allows me to do so without having to start writing for hipster magazines.

I had my share of fitness failures in 2013 as well. I did not hit my bag thirty minutes a day like I said that I would. Increasing my volume and intensity left me too sore on most days, and I did get lazy. I only stepped in the ring once all year, and that was to spar. That can count as a semi-victory, I suppose.

As for 2014, my resolutions are to be able to cable crunch 95 pounds, bench 225 on the decline for a solid three reps, and to improve my diet by the end of the year. These goals are not as lofty a last year's, but I intend to develop more goals throughout the course of 2014. Fitness is a priority in my life, but I also have other goals such as improving my social skills, garnering more income, saving more, etc.. Perhaps we will see how all of these things interconnect.

Happy New Year, and good luck accomplishing your goals in the gym!

Maxing 225 on Decline Bench!

I know that this is not impressive in terms of weight alone, but being the lightweight that I am, and given that I couldn't even raise the bar a couple of years ago, I'm proud of this accomplishment. I hope that I can hit 225 for at least five clean reps by Summer of next year.

Another year of gainz is upon us!

Really Tore It Up Yesterday

I usually prefer hitting the gym at the height of the afternoon, but due to my new work schedule, I can only go early in the morning or later in the evening. I've found that early morning workouts are a great way to start the day, but it takes a bit longer to warm up. This forces me to do a bit more cardio to get my blood pumping before hitting the weights.

I hit shoulders and triceps in the morning as I had planned. I've been able to increase my seated shoulder press to fifty pound dumbbells for eight reps, but my barbell upright row has decreased to seventy pounds for ten reps. I'm not sure if it is due to undertraining, lifting heavier on the shoulder press before performing the upright rows, the time of day, or a combination of these factors. I'm going to try to get back up to eighty the next time that I perform the exercise.

After work, I decided to hit the gym again in order to work abs, biceps, and forearms. Typically, I hit arms and shoulders in a single session, but since I had planned on going to the gym twice in one day, I split up my exercises. I focuses on abs as well since I had been slacking on working my core the previous two weeks. I had to start lighter on cable crunches, but I was able to lift my usual ninety pounds for ten reps. My goal is to crunch the entire stack plus add-on weights (which is about 150 pounds) for one rep by the beginning of next year.

Having two workouts made me feel even more energetic yesterday. The only downside to this is that my appetite has increased tremendously. This increased appetite may help me to put on more weight though, given that I am a hard-gainer and tend not to get hungry too often.

Summertime Gainz and 6/19/2013 Leg Day

I finally have some time off during the summer, so I am going to try to utilize it to improve myself as a person. A large part of this self-improvement will be physical, as I try to increase the intensity of my workouts. This has already taken a bit of a toll on my body, but it is a fee worth paying as I have gained about two pounds of lean muscle mass in the past month (not a lot, I know, but it is something to write about for a hard-gainer like me).

Today was my fourth day in the gym this week, and it was leg day. I hurt my neck pretty badly yesterday when working my back and shoulders, so I couldn't squat too heavy. In order to make up for this, I hit the incline leg press a lot harder than I typically do. My workout went as follows:

4 sets, 8 - 12 reps back squats - 160 pounds
4 sets, 8 - 12 reps standing calf raises - 160 pounds
4 sets, 15 reps seated calf machine 150 pounds

I then moved on to the incline leg press machine. I started with ten plates (450 pounds) and did 8 reps. I remove two plates, then did ten reps. I repeated this until I was down to two plates on the machine. After a one minute rest, I repeated this process starting with four plates. I repeated this until I reached a two-plate start. This is much more activity for my quads and hams than I am used to, but I am sure that if I keep it up, I'll improve my strength and endurance (I'm also sure that it's going to burn a lot tomorrow).

To finish up, I did a few exercises for my abs:

4 sets, 12 - 15 reps decline bench crunches w/ 10 pound medicine ball for the obliques
2 supersets, "Captain's chair" leg raises

My workout wasn't very diverse today, but it was effective, and that is what matters. I hope to up the intensity in the coming weeks, and maybe add a few new exercises to my repertoire. Until next time.

It's Been a Long Time...

It's been almost three months since the last time I made a blog post. Since then, I have started a new job and I have been focusing on working there than online activities.

This doesn't mean that I haven't been hitting the gym regularly though. I've been keeping part of my New Year's promise (http://grandadmiralgainz.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-2013-physical-cliff.html) to myself by hitting the gym at least five days each week. I don't always hit two muscle groups though, as I've found that I am making better gains when a concentrate on one muscle group with a high volume of exercises. I might switch back and forth between the two workout plans every three months or so to keep things interesting.

As far as boxing is concerned, I probably won't be doing it this year. I did not keep my promise to hit my bag thirty minutes a day, but I do hit it at least twice a week for an hour. To be honest, I was thinking about boxing because I was unable to find employment, and wanted to take my aggression out on others legally and productively. Since I've found employment, a lot of the stress that plagued my life has lifted. I would still like to try at least one bout before I get too old, but it probably won't get happening this year. For now, I will just focus on making gains, staying healthy, and making ends meet.

I don't know if I'll be blogging much, but I hope to keep you updated a bit more in the future.

Staying True to My Resolutions (So Far)

I have been keeping up with my resolutions for 2013 so far, although I wish that I hadn't set my goals so high. I have been in the gym five days a week working two muscle groups as I proposed, and I have also been hitting my heavy bag. This is really taking its toll on me, especially my shoulders.

Some people in the fitness community say that there is no such thing as over-training, and that one should always bear through the pain. I am of the belief that one does have to workout through pain to reach their goals, but that over-training can occur. I'm going to keep it up, but I may have to break my promises and take a rest from the heavy bag on some days. I will say this though: hitting the heavy bag has been keeping me sane and keeping me lean!

How are you doing with your New Year's resolutions? I hope that you are fulfilling them and exceeding your expectations!

The 2013 Physical Cliff

While the politicians in Washington D.C. bicker about the Fiscal Cliff, I'm going to be pushing myself over the Physical Cliff. I realize that physical exercise is really the only worthwhile thing going in my life, and I need to step it up and maximize my intensity.

My plan for next year is to work two muscle groups per day in the gym, five days a week, then hit my heavy bag every day for at least thirty minutes. The proposed regimen will allow me to hit each muscle group twice per week. This isn't really great training for boxing, but it will be good for my body. Hopefully, I'll be able to get into at least one boxing match in this upcoming year as well, even if I am dominated. I'll have to look into it more. Medical clearance will be tough, but there may be ways around that.

I am happy to report that I have accomplished my physical goals for the year 2012. Aside from the goals that I have stated above, I also hope to put on at least five more pounds of muscle by the end of 2013, assuming that I live through it.

I hope that you all have a safe and happy new year. Don't give up on your fitness resolutions. Make small ones if you have to; once you see the results, it will become an addiction!

Time For Some Heavy Lifting

I've decided to make another small modification to my plans for the end of the year. For the remainder of this month (and probably a week or so into January), I'm going to be lifting heavy. Instead of doing my usual 8-12 reps and pyramid sets, I'm going to be aiming for 6 - 8 with heavier weights in order to maximize strength gains. My new motto for this period will be "If I can do more than eight, I need more weight".

I also intend to rest less between sets in order to stay active. This would be easier if I worked multiple muscles in one day, as I'd be able to alternate between muscle groups. However, I've seen better results when dedicating days to single muscle groups, so I will stick with that plan for now. Perhaps I will change up and work multiple groups later in 2013.

Tomorrow, I put my new plan to the test with a leg day, which should not be a problem at all. I'll probably have to find a spotter once pectoral day comes along though.

I'll Probably Work Legs Thrice This Week

My plan this week is just as the title of this thread suggest.

My workout week began today with leg day. I did a super pyramid of ten sets of squats and standing calve raises, much like the workout that I did on November 26th (you can read about that in the second paragraph of this post). Instead of starting at twelve reps per set, however, I started at fifteen reps per set and ended at ten. I did not increase the weight, but I increased the volume of each set. I'm going to be going for high volume this week.

I am satisfied with this workout, but I feel that by doing squats alone, I am omitting exercises that would concentrate the workload on individual muscles. To make up for this, I will probably do deadlifts instead of hyperextensions on core day (Wednesday) to hit the lower back as well as the hamstrings. I'll probably do some quadriceps extensions on the machines on my arm day.

I won't be doing high volume for my legs until the next leg day, but I will feel like my leg regimen is more complete by adding these supplemental leg exercises to my regimen this week.

Unintentional Intermittent Fasting

If you follow the Hodge Twins, then you know that they do intermittent fasting. Intermittent fasting is an eating plan where a period of the day is set aside with no caloric intake or low caloric intake. The same number of calories as usual is eaten, but they are eaten in a more condensed period of time. Typically, the period of fasting is in the morning, and the fast is broken at lunchtime or in the early afternoon.

Personally, I prefer to have at least a small breakfast and maybe a pre-workout before hitting the gym, since I find hunger pains distracting. Today was a bit different for me, however. I woke up with a terribly stomachache and found myself unable to eat. I still wanted to get my shoulder and arms workout in, however, so I hit the gym despite not eating much.

My workout went surprisingly well, and I was able to increase my weight and reps just as I had planned. About fifteen minutes into my workout, my hunger pains subsided, and I was in my zone with an even greater amount of energy. How could this be?

Some say that digesting food takes energy, so it is actually better to work out on an empty stomach than it is to work out when full. I don't really know about this theory, but it could have some truth to it. My personal theory is that I was just determined to go and that my body is used to working out in the early afternoon, so it wasn't a big deal that I was a bit hungry. At any rate, I am satisfied with today's routine.

In conclusion, I probably won't be switching to intermittent fasting anytime soon. I may start eating lighter breakfasts, however, and eating more for my post-workout meal or dinner.

A Change in Plans for the Week of 11/26/2012

I've been off of supplements for about a month and a half now. I'm eating lots more and working out harder, which is working better for me than using whey, at least for now. Most of my gains have been muscular, but eating lots of food will undoubtedly cause me to gain some fat too. This can be expected when going through a bulking phase, but I'd still like to keep some of the fat off. It follows that I will have to add cardio back into my weekly routine, which will cause me to change my weekly schedule for the time being.

I hit legs on Sunday. Rather than doing a full regimen as I typically do, I did a "super pyramid" of ten sets, with each set consisting of a set of squats followed immediately by a set of standing calf raises. This super pyramid consisted of 3 sets of 15 with 45 pounds on each side, 3 sets of 12 with 50 pounds on each side, 3 sets of 10 with 55 on each side, and one set of 8 with 60 pounds on each side for good measure. This workout was just as effective as my typical leg day routine if not more so (my legs seemed to bulge out more after yesterday's workout than they typically do).

Today (Monday), I hit my pecs. I focused more on doing decline bench presses than I usually do. I did 3 sets of 10 with 35 pounds on each side, then from there, I did a pyramid consisting of one set of 10 with 35 pounds on each side, one set of 8 with 40 on each side, and one set of 6 with 45 on each side. I realized that my left shoulder was still a bit sore from hitting the heavy bag on Saturday, but I pushed myself to do 2 sets of flat bench presses with 45 pounds on each side, 3 sets of incline bench presses with 25 pounds on each side, 4 sets of body weight dips, and 3 sets of 8 on the iso-lateral machine with 60 pounds on each side. I ended my workout by doing a super set of 30 leg raises in the "captain's chair" for my lower abs.

As for the remainder of the week, I intend to hit my lats and do cardio tomorrow (Tuesday), hit my core on Wednesday or Thursday, then hit my shoulders and arms on Friday. I'll end the week by taking a jog and hitting my heavy bag on Saturday for cardio. I will take either Wednesday or Thursday off to rest and run errands; I'm running low on food supplies and I'll need my fuel after all.

Thanksgiving Day Report

I hope that everyone is having a great Thanksgiving, whether you're celebrating alone, with friends, or with family. If you are one of the heathens that does not celebrate the holiday, then I hope that you're enjoying your day nonetheless (just kidding about the "heathen" remark too).

I started out my day by hitting the gym. I hit my shoulders and triceps today, along with twenty minutes of cardio on the treadmill. I wasn't able to get as much done today as I'd have liked since the gym closed early, but at least I was able to do something, prove to myself that I have made strength gains in my shoulders, and help to alleviate the guilt of pigging out this evening.

Thanksgiving dinner starts in an hour for me. I "betrayed the law" so to speak by having a preliminary slice of apple pie.

I'm also cooking up some macaroni and cheese (well, it's actually penne with Omega 3, but I'm using it as macaroni).

 
Yup, I'm going to be making all kinds of gains this evening, all kinds.

Happy Thanksgiving again to you and yours, and please don't get trampled during the Black Friday madness tomorrow!