Saturday, September 30, 2017
Healthy FFMI
Asked Dr. Brad Schoenfeld on Twitter for suggestions for workout routines until I can get a trainer. Most of the links seem to be about diet unfortunately.
I'll keep browsing. Here's a video that says that healthy FFMI for women is 21.7-33.2, and for men it is 10.8-21.7.
One article (Brad's and not that of the authors he suggested said the following).
Current research suggests that maximum gains in muscle hypertrophy are achieved by training regimens that produce significant metabolic stress while maintaining a moderate degree of muscle tension. A hypertrophy-oriented program should employ a repetition range of 6–12 reps per set with rest intervals of 60–90 seconds between sets. Exercises should be varied in a multiplanar, multiangled fashion to ensure maximal stimulation of all muscle fibers. Multiple sets should be employed in the context of a split training routine to heighten the anabolic milieu. At least some of the sets should be carried out to the point of concentric muscular failure, perhaps alternating microcycles of sets to failure with those not performed to failure to minimize the potential for overtraining. Concentric repetitions should be performed at fast to moderate speeds (1–3 seconds) while eccentric repetitions should be performed at slightly slower speeds (2–4 seconds). Training should be periodized so that the hypertrophy phase culminates in a brief period of higher- volume overreaching followed by a taper to allow for optimal supercompensation of muscle tissue.
While on a plane trip back home from work I outlined 20 weeks of workouts. I'll see if they work and continue to research. I'll be doing 4 sets 5 with 5+ on the last set with the goal of going up 5 pounds for week. It will be full-body for a while and the initial period should be easily doable. When I get close to the end it may be difficult and require a split. I'll report in!
I'll keep browsing. Here's a video that says that healthy FFMI for women is 21.7-33.2, and for men it is 10.8-21.7.
One article (Brad's and not that of the authors he suggested said the following).
Current research suggests that maximum gains in muscle hypertrophy are achieved by training regimens that produce significant metabolic stress while maintaining a moderate degree of muscle tension. A hypertrophy-oriented program should employ a repetition range of 6–12 reps per set with rest intervals of 60–90 seconds between sets. Exercises should be varied in a multiplanar, multiangled fashion to ensure maximal stimulation of all muscle fibers. Multiple sets should be employed in the context of a split training routine to heighten the anabolic milieu. At least some of the sets should be carried out to the point of concentric muscular failure, perhaps alternating microcycles of sets to failure with those not performed to failure to minimize the potential for overtraining. Concentric repetitions should be performed at fast to moderate speeds (1–3 seconds) while eccentric repetitions should be performed at slightly slower speeds (2–4 seconds). Training should be periodized so that the hypertrophy phase culminates in a brief period of higher- volume overreaching followed by a taper to allow for optimal supercompensation of muscle tissue.
While on a plane trip back home from work I outlined 20 weeks of workouts. I'll see if they work and continue to research. I'll be doing 4 sets 5 with 5+ on the last set with the goal of going up 5 pounds for week. It will be full-body for a while and the initial period should be easily doable. When I get close to the end it may be difficult and require a split. I'll report in!
Monday, September 25, 2017
9/25/17
Made it to the gym today for HIIT with no resistance. It's deload week.
I'll lift Tuesday and Thursday mornings and I'm traveling Saturday morning. So if I have energy to lift after 5 Saturday evening I might do that. Otherwise, I'll live.
For this week I'll start my transition to an adapted "kinobody" workout from what I can tell from the videos on YouTube.
Deadlift 185 lbs
Incline Bench for 95 lbs
Overhead Dumbbell Press 20 lbs
"Chin-Assist" machine -80 lbs
Row Machine 100 lbs
Squat 145 lbs
Dumbbell Curls 15 lbs
When I post ahead of time it is often so I can look it up.
I'll probably post again next Sunday or Monday!
I'll lift Tuesday and Thursday mornings and I'm traveling Saturday morning. So if I have energy to lift after 5 Saturday evening I might do that. Otherwise, I'll live.
For this week I'll start my transition to an adapted "kinobody" workout from what I can tell from the videos on YouTube.
Deadlift 185 lbs
Incline Bench for 95 lbs
Overhead Dumbbell Press 20 lbs
"Chin-Assist" machine -80 lbs
Row Machine 100 lbs
Squat 145 lbs
Dumbbell Curls 15 lbs
When I post ahead of time it is often so I can look it up.
I'll probably post again next Sunday or Monday!
Sunday, September 24, 2017
9/24/17
Life is definitely a struggle right now. On the bright side I spent time with people who are familia and camaradas who talked to me about how important my change has been to others.
I hope to make myself and my surroundings healthier and happier!
KEEP LIFTing! KEEP HITTing! KEEP IFing!
I hope to make myself and my surroundings healthier and happier!
KEEP LIFTing! KEEP HITTing! KEEP IFing!
Saturday, September 23, 2017
9/23/17 Changing up Workout
Next week is deload. I have decided to change a little bit toward some different lifts. So my workout looks different today. The squat rack was full the whole time today so no squats today I did the leg press machine instead.
There's been lots of stress both at home and at work. That definitely made it mentally hard to push for heavy weight.
I weighed in at 149.8 pounds and waist measurement was 91 cm.
Here's what I did today for 3 sets of 5 reps unless I write something else:
Deadlift 225 for 3 reps, then 215 for 3, and 205 for 3, maybe with more sleep I could have done sets of 5.
Flat bench for 155
Since I'm going to move to incline bench I added that today at 95 pounds to start getting used to it.
I went for Overhead Dumbbell press today 10 lbs for 20 reps, then 20 for 10, then 30 for 5, and 40 for 5. Tried the 45 and I'm not strong enough to get it over my shoulders!
I went ahead and did the "Chin-Assist" machine and started with -100 pounds for 10 reps, then -80 for 10, and then -50 for 5.
Row Machine 135 for one set, and 140 for two sets.
Lat Side Raises 25 for 5 because someone was using the 20s. Then 3 sets of 20 pounds for 8 reps.
Leg Press 175, 210, 270 for 5 reps each.
Adding curls and I went 25 pound dumbbells for 3 sets of 5.
I'll figure out tomorrow what I want to do to use the deload week to help me transition into the new workout. Probably super light next week and I'll only get two workouts before a work trip. Then October will begin a linear progression of 3-4 sets of 5 and increase as often as can be done with good form.
I had a doc friend tell me to stop wasting my energy on checking my glucose. I had asked how I was testing once a week with a fasting glucose of over 100 and got a 4.9 A1C. It's a puzzle I'm still trying to figure out without worrying more than I need to. Symmetric Strength, the Navy Bodyfat Calculator, and the Fat Free Mass Index are helping me set goals. I'll see if I can reduce the 33 pounds of fat, and increase the 117 lean mass.
If I get to 15% bodyfat my highest weight should be 173 lbs, and that's at "hulk" level of bulkiness. 167 pounds "muscular." At 10% it seems that 160 and 155 which makes sense to me. I had told my doc after my first A1C retest that I thought that 155 should be my max weight for the rest of my life. Intermittent Fasting should help me with that. It has made the weight maintenance continue smoothly.
Much Love to All!
Keeping up with my IF, HIIT, and Lifting!
ABOUT THE BLOG: This blog started years ago to talk about self-care and weightlifting. It stopped for a few years. It was been restarted when I was told that I was diabetic. I had an A1C of 9.3. A1C is an estimate of your blood sugar level over the last 3 months and 6.5 is pre-diabetic, and usually over 7 is considered diabetic. In March I was re-tested and my A1C was 5.0! That's below pre-diabetic (so, essentially non-diabetic). It was nice to have my doctor say, "you used to be diabetic." I'm still working on improving my insulin sensitivity and not thinking I'm out of the woods yet. My September retest came back with and A1C of 4.9. It is exciting
The results were from diet and exercise. Here is a quick summary of how I responded to being diagnosed as diabetic. I'm going to post this review every so often. Mostly when I post the blog to Twitter or Facebook.
(EDIT: 33 views in about an hour! Thank you all!)
There's been lots of stress both at home and at work. That definitely made it mentally hard to push for heavy weight.
I weighed in at 149.8 pounds and waist measurement was 91 cm.
Here's what I did today for 3 sets of 5 reps unless I write something else:
Deadlift 225 for 3 reps, then 215 for 3, and 205 for 3, maybe with more sleep I could have done sets of 5.
Flat bench for 155
Since I'm going to move to incline bench I added that today at 95 pounds to start getting used to it.
I went for Overhead Dumbbell press today 10 lbs for 20 reps, then 20 for 10, then 30 for 5, and 40 for 5. Tried the 45 and I'm not strong enough to get it over my shoulders!
I went ahead and did the "Chin-Assist" machine and started with -100 pounds for 10 reps, then -80 for 10, and then -50 for 5.
Row Machine 135 for one set, and 140 for two sets.
Lat Side Raises 25 for 5 because someone was using the 20s. Then 3 sets of 20 pounds for 8 reps.
Leg Press 175, 210, 270 for 5 reps each.
Adding curls and I went 25 pound dumbbells for 3 sets of 5.
I'll figure out tomorrow what I want to do to use the deload week to help me transition into the new workout. Probably super light next week and I'll only get two workouts before a work trip. Then October will begin a linear progression of 3-4 sets of 5 and increase as often as can be done with good form.
I had a doc friend tell me to stop wasting my energy on checking my glucose. I had asked how I was testing once a week with a fasting glucose of over 100 and got a 4.9 A1C. It's a puzzle I'm still trying to figure out without worrying more than I need to. Symmetric Strength, the Navy Bodyfat Calculator, and the Fat Free Mass Index are helping me set goals. I'll see if I can reduce the 33 pounds of fat, and increase the 117 lean mass.
If I get to 15% bodyfat my highest weight should be 173 lbs, and that's at "hulk" level of bulkiness. 167 pounds "muscular." At 10% it seems that 160 and 155 which makes sense to me. I had told my doc after my first A1C retest that I thought that 155 should be my max weight for the rest of my life. Intermittent Fasting should help me with that. It has made the weight maintenance continue smoothly.
Much Love to All!
Keeping up with my IF, HIIT, and Lifting!
ABOUT THE BLOG: This blog started years ago to talk about self-care and weightlifting. It stopped for a few years. It was been restarted when I was told that I was diabetic. I had an A1C of 9.3. A1C is an estimate of your blood sugar level over the last 3 months and 6.5 is pre-diabetic, and usually over 7 is considered diabetic. In March I was re-tested and my A1C was 5.0! That's below pre-diabetic (so, essentially non-diabetic). It was nice to have my doctor say, "you used to be diabetic." I'm still working on improving my insulin sensitivity and not thinking I'm out of the woods yet. My September retest came back with and A1C of 4.9. It is exciting
The results were from diet and exercise. Here is a quick summary of how I responded to being diagnosed as diabetic. I'm going to post this review every so often. Mostly when I post the blog to Twitter or Facebook.
My lifting approach is to gain muscle to help with insulin sensitivity so I'm focusing on compound exercises mostly (deadlift, incline bench, squat, overhead press, and pullups) with some other things to round out like curls. I'm going to adjust my workouts now in October for that.
(EDIT: 33 views in about an hour! Thank you all!)
Friday, September 22, 2017
9/22/17
Tried riding the bike to 20 (max resistance) for my High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) sprints. The bike felt like it would slip and stall out. There weren't any other open bikes. I'll deload next week and try to get the 20 for HIIT next month.
I was browsing videos, and ran across this one on natural lifters. It mentions Fat Free Mass Index (FFMI) and I found this FFMI calculator. It says my "Adjusted FFMI" is 20.1, and just FFMI is 21.5. 19 is average for males, so I'm super happy with that. There is this quick article on FFMI Potential.
(EDIT) Tried to figure out the "adjusted" and I think it is a calculation for "short" people, of which I am definitely a part of that population. So I'll use adjusted which is still slightly above average. I'll probably post both just in case I learn something different as time goes by.
I'll keep trying to figure out reliable and inexpensive ways to track my progress and sharing as I can.
Between Intermittent Fasting, HIIT, and solid lifting I feel that I am getting healthier and that's a big deal!
I was browsing videos, and ran across this one on natural lifters. It mentions Fat Free Mass Index (FFMI) and I found this FFMI calculator. It says my "Adjusted FFMI" is 20.1, and just FFMI is 21.5. 19 is average for males, so I'm super happy with that. There is this quick article on FFMI Potential.
(EDIT) Tried to figure out the "adjusted" and I think it is a calculation for "short" people, of which I am definitely a part of that population. So I'll use adjusted which is still slightly above average. I'll probably post both just in case I learn something different as time goes by.
I'll keep trying to figure out reliable and inexpensive ways to track my progress and sharing as I can.
Between Intermittent Fasting, HIIT, and solid lifting I feel that I am getting healthier and that's a big deal!
9/21/17
Getting to 20 on HIIT hasn't been working great. I'll keep at it. Hard to get to 100% with that much resistance.
Here's my weightlifting for the day, 3 sets of 10. Still hard and I'll be happy when I get to deload week next week!
Deadlifts 185 pounds
Bench 130 lbs
Squat 170 lbs
Machine Overhead Press 75
Side lat raises with 15 lbs and I've been increasing reps, 13 this week.
Machine Rows 110 lbs
Machine Pulldowns 100 lbs
I decided I will change my workouts starting next month. I don't know the weight range yet. It will focus on the following and adjusting when I feel I've hit some plateau:
Deadlifts
Incline Bench
Squat
Barbell Overhead Press
Barbell Curls
Chin-Ups
I'll do this for October and likely November with at 12 repetition, 8 rep, 4-5 rep range. 15 reps is killer, and I may go back to it at some point, just going to break for a couple of months.
Here's my weightlifting for the day, 3 sets of 10. Still hard and I'll be happy when I get to deload week next week!
Deadlifts 185 pounds
Bench 130 lbs
Squat 170 lbs
Machine Overhead Press 75
Side lat raises with 15 lbs and I've been increasing reps, 13 this week.
Machine Rows 110 lbs
Machine Pulldowns 100 lbs
I decided I will change my workouts starting next month. I don't know the weight range yet. It will focus on the following and adjusting when I feel I've hit some plateau:
Deadlifts
Incline Bench
Squat
Barbell Overhead Press
Barbell Curls
Chin-Ups
I'll do this for October and likely November with at 12 repetition, 8 rep, 4-5 rep range. 15 reps is killer, and I may go back to it at some point, just going to break for a couple of months.
Tuesday, September 19, 2017
9/19/17
Forced myself to the gym today.
Did HIIT yesterday with the bike set on 20 for the sprints. I couldn't get it going. Still have a stuffy nose. I'll deload next week and start at 18 next month and try to get to 20 by November.
Today I lifted and did 3 sets of 15. It was challenging for sure and I'm glad I'm doing deload next week.
Deadlifts 140 pounds
Bench 100 lbs
Squat 115 lbs
Machine Overhead Press 60
Side lat raises with 10 lbs and I've been increasing reps, 18 this week.
Machine Rows 85 lbs
Machine Pulldowns 75 lbs
Had a good talk with a brother today about our workouts and it was good. We talked about stuff we don't usually get to talk about. So it was good for me. Makes me think I may change my workout next month. I've been on this workout for a while now. Still want to get my deadlifts and squat up. So keeping that and maybe doing the rest from the previous post.
I'm going to try this for my body fat tracking as that's probably better than my weight. I'm doing this first at night after dinner and all and will try again in the morning sometime this week. According to this I'm at 23%.
I used this calculator for that determination. (EDIT: Rechecked in the morning and I'm at 22% with 33 pounds of fat mass and 117 pounds of lean mass. I'll use that as a baseline going forward.)
Here is the video, I will keep tracking the body fat, it's easier than calculating all my body measurements though I will still do that. I'll start posting this on the sidebar as well.
Did HIIT yesterday with the bike set on 20 for the sprints. I couldn't get it going. Still have a stuffy nose. I'll deload next week and start at 18 next month and try to get to 20 by November.
Today I lifted and did 3 sets of 15. It was challenging for sure and I'm glad I'm doing deload next week.
Deadlifts 140 pounds
Bench 100 lbs
Squat 115 lbs
Machine Overhead Press 60
Side lat raises with 10 lbs and I've been increasing reps, 18 this week.
Machine Rows 85 lbs
Machine Pulldowns 75 lbs
Had a good talk with a brother today about our workouts and it was good. We talked about stuff we don't usually get to talk about. So it was good for me. Makes me think I may change my workout next month. I've been on this workout for a while now. Still want to get my deadlifts and squat up. So keeping that and maybe doing the rest from the previous post.
I'm going to try this for my body fat tracking as that's probably better than my weight. I'm doing this first at night after dinner and all and will try again in the morning sometime this week. According to this I'm at 23%.
I used this calculator for that determination. (EDIT: Rechecked in the morning and I'm at 22% with 33 pounds of fat mass and 117 pounds of lean mass. I'll use that as a baseline going forward.)
Here is the video, I will keep tracking the body fat, it's easier than calculating all my body measurements though I will still do that. I'll start posting this on the sidebar as well.
Sunday, September 17, 2017
Arbitrary Goals - Sept 2017
Yesterday I talked about a video I ran across and it had some goals. I'm going to fill that in for my current weight of around 150 pounds. I'll also do everything in pounds for now. My primary goal is to be healthy. You can read to the bottom if you want to see how that's going.
I didn't include the waist as they would have me at the 27 in range. I don't think I need to do that. The physiques mentioned in the video come with strength goals and those are more important to me.
I also looked at the symmetric strength goals and I'm at intermediate level pretty much now so the next category is "proficient" and that's what I'll use for my end of November goals for 5 reps. That would be benching 170, squatting 225, and deadlifting 260. I feel like that might be doable in 10 weeks, and if not definitely by the end of the year.
The goals in the video were:
Warrior -
Incline bench 5 reps of 1.1 bodyweight (165)
Weighted chin-ups 5 reps with 30% bodyweight attached (45 pounds added)
Standing Shoulder Press 5 reps 0.7 bodyweight (105)
Bicep Curls 5 reps 0.55 bodyweight (82.5)
Greek God -
Incline bench 5 reps of 1.25 bodyweight (187.5)
Weighted chin-ups 5 reps with 50% bodyweight attached (75 pounds added)
Standing Shoulder Press 5 reps 0.85 bodyweight (127.5)
Bicep Curls 5 reps 0.65 bodyweight (97.5)
Superhero -
Incline bench 5 reps of 1.4 bodyweight (210)
Weighted chin-ups 5 reps with 70% bodyweight attached (105 pounds added)
Standing Shoulder Press 5 reps with bodyweight (150)
Bicep Curls 5 reps 0.75 bodyweight (112.5)
ABOUT THE BLOG: This blog started years ago to talk about self-care and weightlifting. It stopped for a few years. It was been restarted when I was told that I was diabetic. I had an A1C of 9.3. A1C is an estimate of your blood sugar level over the last 3 months and 6.5 is pre-diabetic, and usually over 7 is considered diabetic. In March I was re-tested and my A1C was 5.0! That's below pre-diabetic (so, essentially non-diabetic). It was nice to have my doctor say, "you used to be diabetic." I'm still working on improving my insulin sensitivity and not thinking I'm out of the woods yet. My September retest came back with and A1C of 4.9. It is exciting
The results were from diet and exercise. Here is a quick summary of how I responded to being diagnosed as diabetic. I'm going to post this review every so often. Mostly when I post the blog to Twitter or Facebook.
I didn't include the waist as they would have me at the 27 in range. I don't think I need to do that. The physiques mentioned in the video come with strength goals and those are more important to me.
I also looked at the symmetric strength goals and I'm at intermediate level pretty much now so the next category is "proficient" and that's what I'll use for my end of November goals for 5 reps. That would be benching 170, squatting 225, and deadlifting 260. I feel like that might be doable in 10 weeks, and if not definitely by the end of the year.
The goals in the video were:
Warrior -
Incline bench 5 reps of 1.1 bodyweight (165)
Weighted chin-ups 5 reps with 30% bodyweight attached (45 pounds added)
Standing Shoulder Press 5 reps 0.7 bodyweight (105)
Bicep Curls 5 reps 0.55 bodyweight (82.5)
Greek God -
Incline bench 5 reps of 1.25 bodyweight (187.5)
Weighted chin-ups 5 reps with 50% bodyweight attached (75 pounds added)
Standing Shoulder Press 5 reps 0.85 bodyweight (127.5)
Bicep Curls 5 reps 0.65 bodyweight (97.5)
Superhero -
Incline bench 5 reps of 1.4 bodyweight (210)
Weighted chin-ups 5 reps with 70% bodyweight attached (105 pounds added)
Standing Shoulder Press 5 reps with bodyweight (150)
Bicep Curls 5 reps 0.75 bodyweight (112.5)
ABOUT THE BLOG: This blog started years ago to talk about self-care and weightlifting. It stopped for a few years. It was been restarted when I was told that I was diabetic. I had an A1C of 9.3. A1C is an estimate of your blood sugar level over the last 3 months and 6.5 is pre-diabetic, and usually over 7 is considered diabetic. In March I was re-tested and my A1C was 5.0! That's below pre-diabetic (so, essentially non-diabetic). It was nice to have my doctor say, "you used to be diabetic." I'm still working on improving my insulin sensitivity and not thinking I'm out of the woods yet. My September retest came back with and A1C of 4.9. It is exciting
The results were from diet and exercise. Here is a quick summary of how I responded to being diagnosed as diabetic. I'm going to post this review every so often. Mostly when I post the blog to Twitter or Facebook.
My lifting approach is to gain muscle so I'm focusing on compound exercises mostly (deadlift, bench, squat, overhead press) with some other things to round out lat pulldowns, rows, and side lateral raises. I'm going to adjust my workouts in December.
Saturday, September 16, 2017
Sept 16 - 2017
Fighting a cold so I missed lifting on Thursday. I tried doing my High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) with the bike resistance set to 20. Didn't work exactly as I went slow enough that the machine paused and reset to 0 resistance.
I'll try again and hopefully without a cold.
I did go lift today and decided to lift heavy. For those who see this for the first time, I'm doing a somewhat powerlift workout to try and gain overall muscle before focusing on any specific areas. I'm also lifting for my health and trying to get mass to help with blood sugar issues. I had a 9.3 A1C (diabetic range for blood sugars) to a 5.0 (below pre-diabetic range) in 3 months, and my follow-up test was 4.9 A1C, so hopefully I'm continuing to improve!
Here's what I did today.
Saturday (3 sets of 5 reps)
Deadlift 210, 215, and 215. I had the guy give me feedback on my form.
Bench 145, and two sets at 150
Squat 170, and two sets at 175
Machine Overhead Press two sets of 90 and one at 95
Machine Rows one set 130, and two sets of 135
Machine Pulldowns one set 110, and three sets of 115.
Dumbbell side raises 20lbs and 3 sets of 7, I'm increasing by one rep a week
I weighed in at 149.6, and I'm still trying to gauge that. I forgot to check my glucose and my waist size before breakfast. Maybe tomorrow.
I ran across this video and wonder if it useful. I think as far as trying to give myself arbitrary goals it should be OK. Also wondering if any of these physique types would look "funny" for me. Next week will be my heavy week before going into a deload week that includes travel.
The goals here are:
Warrior -
Incline bench 5 reps of 1.1 bodyweight
Weighted chin-ups 5 reps with 30% bodyweight attached
Standing Shoulder Press 5 reps 0.7 bodyweight
Bicep Curls 5 reps 0.55 bodyweight
Waist 43-44% height
Greek God -
Incline bench 5 reps of 1.25 bodyweight
Weighted chin-ups 5 reps with 50% bodyweight attached
Standing Shoulder Press 5 reps 0.85 bodyweight
Bicep Curls 5 reps 0.65 bodyweight
Waist 43-46% height
Superhero -
Incline bench 5 reps of 1.4 bodyweight
Weighted chin-ups 5 reps with 70% bodyweight attached
Standing Shoulder Press 5 reps with bodyweight
Bicep Curls 5 reps 0.75 bodyweight
Waist 44-46% height
I'll try again and hopefully without a cold.
I did go lift today and decided to lift heavy. For those who see this for the first time, I'm doing a somewhat powerlift workout to try and gain overall muscle before focusing on any specific areas. I'm also lifting for my health and trying to get mass to help with blood sugar issues. I had a 9.3 A1C (diabetic range for blood sugars) to a 5.0 (below pre-diabetic range) in 3 months, and my follow-up test was 4.9 A1C, so hopefully I'm continuing to improve!
Here's what I did today.
Saturday (3 sets of 5 reps)
Deadlift 210, 215, and 215. I had the guy give me feedback on my form.
Bench 145, and two sets at 150
Squat 170, and two sets at 175
Machine Overhead Press two sets of 90 and one at 95
Machine Rows one set 130, and two sets of 135
Machine Pulldowns one set 110, and three sets of 115.
Dumbbell side raises 20lbs and 3 sets of 7, I'm increasing by one rep a week
I weighed in at 149.6, and I'm still trying to gauge that. I forgot to check my glucose and my waist size before breakfast. Maybe tomorrow.
I ran across this video and wonder if it useful. I think as far as trying to give myself arbitrary goals it should be OK. Also wondering if any of these physique types would look "funny" for me. Next week will be my heavy week before going into a deload week that includes travel.
The goals here are:
Warrior -
Incline bench 5 reps of 1.1 bodyweight
Weighted chin-ups 5 reps with 30% bodyweight attached
Standing Shoulder Press 5 reps 0.7 bodyweight
Bicep Curls 5 reps 0.55 bodyweight
Waist 43-44% height
Greek God -
Incline bench 5 reps of 1.25 bodyweight
Weighted chin-ups 5 reps with 50% bodyweight attached
Standing Shoulder Press 5 reps 0.85 bodyweight
Bicep Curls 5 reps 0.65 bodyweight
Waist 43-46% height
Superhero -
Incline bench 5 reps of 1.4 bodyweight
Weighted chin-ups 5 reps with 70% bodyweight attached
Standing Shoulder Press 5 reps with bodyweight
Bicep Curls 5 reps 0.75 bodyweight
Waist 44-46% height
I'll probably calculate these with 135, 140, 145, and 150 as my weight as getting less than 50% waist hasn't happened for me yet and I'm not sure when I'm ready for that. After November I'll probably switch from my current routine to something focused on these lifts without giving up deadlifting, flat bench, squat, and back strength/size.
Tuesday, September 12, 2017
Sept 12 - 2017
Helped a friend with deadlifts today. That was nice to be asked for help in that way. It's always a different way to bond with friends.
Also saw another friend there who said "you look great!" I have to just take those and appreciate the compliments. At first I would feel like "what? Did I look like sh*t before?" I'm over that now. :)
There are friends who have told me they are inspired and have started intermittent fasting or working out because of my posts. So while I may not get a lot of comments on the blog, I get a lot in person and by text which is nice. My "special update" had the most views so far with almost 150 views!
Ok, so today is 3 sets of 15 reps --
Deadlifts 135
Bench 95
Squat 110
Overhead Press machine 55
Side dumbbell raises 10 (oops, I did 8s instead of going for 17! I wondered why it felt easy)
Machine Rows 80
Machine Pulldowns 70
I weighed in at 151.2 which is "high" for me. Waist is at 36 and 1/2 inches so maybe I'm gaining some fat. My A1C is 4.9, which is way lower than I expected.
For those new to the blog, here is a quick summary of my response to being diagnosed with diabetes.
Also saw another friend there who said "you look great!" I have to just take those and appreciate the compliments. At first I would feel like "what? Did I look like sh*t before?" I'm over that now. :)
There are friends who have told me they are inspired and have started intermittent fasting or working out because of my posts. So while I may not get a lot of comments on the blog, I get a lot in person and by text which is nice. My "special update" had the most views so far with almost 150 views!
Ok, so today is 3 sets of 15 reps --
Deadlifts 135
Bench 95
Squat 110
Overhead Press machine 55
Side dumbbell raises 10 (oops, I did 8s instead of going for 17! I wondered why it felt easy)
Machine Rows 80
Machine Pulldowns 70
I weighed in at 151.2 which is "high" for me. Waist is at 36 and 1/2 inches so maybe I'm gaining some fat. My A1C is 4.9, which is way lower than I expected.
For those new to the blog, here is a quick summary of my response to being diagnosed with diabetes.
Sunday, September 10, 2017
SPECIAL UPDATE!
Hello Everyone!
I have super exciting news. I was avoiding my mailbox because my bloodwork was going to come back and I assumed my A1C (blood sugar average over 3 months) would come back around 6 or higher. I finally opened it today, Sunday, and it is 4.9!
I am amazed. Another major health milestone!
Going to keep up the HIIT, the weightlifting, and the intermittent fasting.
Feel free to ask questions.
I have super exciting news. I was avoiding my mailbox because my bloodwork was going to come back and I assumed my A1C (blood sugar average over 3 months) would come back around 6 or higher. I finally opened it today, Sunday, and it is 4.9!
I am amazed. Another major health milestone!
Going to keep up the HIIT, the weightlifting, and the intermittent fasting.
Feel free to ask questions.
September Catching UP!
OK, so I'm behind a whole month of workouts. I've had people in person and texts tell me "I haven't seen an update in a while." I'm proud of that. I've also had people tell me they are inspired and started working out, or started intermittent fasting because of my posts or because they have seen me in person and notice the change. I hope there aren't too many typos in this post, and for anyone new, the purpose of the blog is at the bottom.
So here goes the quick summary. I've continued the HIIT on the bike. I've been able to get to 19 on the resistance on the bike during the sprint portion. I'll try 20 next week. After that I'll have to figure out what to do after the de-load week.
For weights, here we go, lots of workouts to catch up on. I'll start with this past week and go from there.
Tuesday (3 sets of 15 reps)
Deadlift 130
Bench 90
Squat 105
Machine Overhead Press 50
Machine Rows 75
Machine Pulldowns 65
Dumbbell side raises 10 for sets of 16
Thursday (3 sets of 10 reps)
Deadlift 185
Bench 130
Squat 170
Machine Overhead Press 75 for 4 sets
Machine Rows one set of 95, one of 100, and one at 105
Machine Pulldowns one set each of 80, 85, 90, and 95
Dumbbell side raises 15 for sets of 6
Not everything is increasing at this point.
Saturday (3 sets of 5 reps)
Deadlift 210
Bench 145
Squat 170
Machine Overhead Press a set of 80, one of 85, and 90 for 7 reps
Machine Rows one set of 110, one of 130, and one of 150
Machine Pulldowns one set of 100, and two sets of 130
Dumbbell side raises 3 sets of 20 for 6 reps
I'm keeping the Saturday workout because it is hard enough that I'm not sure I have the best form and am just barely making it. Next month I should be increasing on these.
First week of September
Tuesday (3 sets of 15 reps)
Deadlift 125
Bench 85
Squat 100
Machine Overhead Press 45
Machine Rows 70
Machine Pulldowns 60
Dumbbell side raises 10
Thursday (3 sets of 10 reps)
Deadlift 185
Bench 130 two sets of 10 and one of 8
Squat 170
Machine Overhead Press 70
Machine Rows one set of 90
Machine Pulldowns one set each of 80 for 4 sets
Dumbbell side raises 15
Not everything is increasing at this point.
Saturday (3 sets of 5 reps)
Deadlift 210
Bench 145
Squat 170
Machine Overhead Press a set of 80
Machine Rows 110
Machine Pulldowns 100
Dumbbell side raises 20
Week of August 20
Deload Week, all workouts 3 sets of 12 with same weight
Deadlift 100
Bench 85
Squat 100
Machine Overhead Press 40
Machine Rows 50
Machine Pulldowns 50
Dumbbell side raises 10
Week of August 13
Tuesday (3 sets of 12 reps)
Deadlift 110
Bench 95
Squat 110
Machine Overhead Press 45
Machine Rows 60
Machine Pulldowns 60
Dumbbell side raises 10 for sets of 16
Thursday (3 sets of 10 reps)
Deadlift 165
Bench 130
Squat 150
Machine Overhead Press 70
Machine Rows 70
Machine Pulldowns 70
Dumbbell side raises 15
Saturday (3 sets of 8 reps)
Missed this Saturday
Week of August 6
Tuesday (3 sets of 15 reps)
Deadlift 105
Bench 90
Squat 105
Machine Overhead Press 40
Machine Rows 65
Machine Pulldowns 65
Dumbbell side raises 10 for sets of 16
Thursday (3 sets of 10 reps)
Deadlift 160
Bench 125
Squat 145
Machine Overhead Press 60
Machine Rows 70
Machine Pulldowns 70
Dumbbell side raises 15
Saturday (3 sets of 5 reps)
Deadlift 180
Bench 140
Squat 165
Machine Overhead Press 80
Machine Rows 70
Machine Pulldowns 70
Dumbbell side raises 20
ABOUT THE BLOG: This blog started years ago to talk about self-care and weightlifting. It stopped for a few years. It was been restarted when I was told that I was diabetic. I had an A1C of 9.3. A1C is an estimate of your blood sugar level over the last 3 months and 6.5 is pre-diabetic, and usually over 7 is considered diabetic. In March I was re-tested and my A1C was 5.0! That's below pre-diabetic (so, essentially non-diabetic). It was nice to have my doctor say, "you used to be diabetic." I'm still working on improving my insulin sensitivity and not thinking I'm out of the woods yet.
It was mostly diet and some exercise. Here is a quick summary of how I responded to being diagnosed as diabetic. I'm going to post this review every so often. Mostly when I post the blog to Twitter or Facebook.
So here goes the quick summary. I've continued the HIIT on the bike. I've been able to get to 19 on the resistance on the bike during the sprint portion. I'll try 20 next week. After that I'll have to figure out what to do after the de-load week.
For weights, here we go, lots of workouts to catch up on. I'll start with this past week and go from there.
Tuesday (3 sets of 15 reps)
Deadlift 130
Bench 90
Squat 105
Machine Overhead Press 50
Machine Rows 75
Machine Pulldowns 65
Dumbbell side raises 10 for sets of 16
Thursday (3 sets of 10 reps)
Deadlift 185
Bench 130
Squat 170
Machine Overhead Press 75 for 4 sets
Machine Rows one set of 95, one of 100, and one at 105
Machine Pulldowns one set each of 80, 85, 90, and 95
Dumbbell side raises 15 for sets of 6
Not everything is increasing at this point.
Saturday (3 sets of 5 reps)
Deadlift 210
Bench 145
Squat 170
Machine Overhead Press a set of 80, one of 85, and 90 for 7 reps
Machine Rows one set of 110, one of 130, and one of 150
Machine Pulldowns one set of 100, and two sets of 130
Dumbbell side raises 3 sets of 20 for 6 reps
I'm keeping the Saturday workout because it is hard enough that I'm not sure I have the best form and am just barely making it. Next month I should be increasing on these.
First week of September
Tuesday (3 sets of 15 reps)
Deadlift 125
Bench 85
Squat 100
Machine Overhead Press 45
Machine Rows 70
Machine Pulldowns 60
Dumbbell side raises 10
Thursday (3 sets of 10 reps)
Deadlift 185
Bench 130 two sets of 10 and one of 8
Squat 170
Machine Overhead Press 70
Machine Rows one set of 90
Machine Pulldowns one set each of 80 for 4 sets
Dumbbell side raises 15
Not everything is increasing at this point.
Saturday (3 sets of 5 reps)
Deadlift 210
Bench 145
Squat 170
Machine Overhead Press a set of 80
Machine Rows 110
Machine Pulldowns 100
Dumbbell side raises 20
Week of August 20
Deload Week, all workouts 3 sets of 12 with same weight
Deadlift 100
Bench 85
Squat 100
Machine Overhead Press 40
Machine Rows 50
Machine Pulldowns 50
Dumbbell side raises 10
Week of August 13
Tuesday (3 sets of 12 reps)
Deadlift 110
Bench 95
Squat 110
Machine Overhead Press 45
Machine Rows 60
Machine Pulldowns 60
Dumbbell side raises 10 for sets of 16
Thursday (3 sets of 10 reps)
Deadlift 165
Bench 130
Squat 150
Machine Overhead Press 70
Machine Rows 70
Machine Pulldowns 70
Dumbbell side raises 15
Saturday (3 sets of 8 reps)
Missed this Saturday
Week of August 6
Tuesday (3 sets of 15 reps)
Deadlift 105
Bench 90
Squat 105
Machine Overhead Press 40
Machine Rows 65
Machine Pulldowns 65
Dumbbell side raises 10 for sets of 16
Thursday (3 sets of 10 reps)
Deadlift 160
Bench 125
Squat 145
Machine Overhead Press 60
Machine Rows 70
Machine Pulldowns 70
Dumbbell side raises 15
Saturday (3 sets of 5 reps)
Deadlift 180
Bench 140
Squat 165
Machine Overhead Press 80
Machine Rows 70
Machine Pulldowns 70
Dumbbell side raises 20
ABOUT THE BLOG: This blog started years ago to talk about self-care and weightlifting. It stopped for a few years. It was been restarted when I was told that I was diabetic. I had an A1C of 9.3. A1C is an estimate of your blood sugar level over the last 3 months and 6.5 is pre-diabetic, and usually over 7 is considered diabetic. In March I was re-tested and my A1C was 5.0! That's below pre-diabetic (so, essentially non-diabetic). It was nice to have my doctor say, "you used to be diabetic." I'm still working on improving my insulin sensitivity and not thinking I'm out of the woods yet.
It was mostly diet and some exercise. Here is a quick summary of how I responded to being diagnosed as diabetic. I'm going to post this review every so often. Mostly when I post the blog to Twitter or Facebook.
My lifting approach is to gain muscle so I'm focusing on compound exercises mostly (deadlift, bench, squat, overhead press) with some other things to round out lat pulldowns, rows, and side lateral raises. As I progress I'll make changes as appropriate.
