Halfway Through Phase 1

I've just completed my first month of training, which means I've made it halfway through Phase 1.  During Phase 1, I'm really working on building mass.  That means lots of reps to failure in the gym and focusing on getting enough protein and carbs to keep my energy level high for training and recovery.

I'm noticing, though, that as I add inches of muscle without focusing on getting lean (yet), I feel uncomfortable in my clothes.  Everything fits a little tighter than I would like.  It's like the muscle is pushing my fat outward from underneath.  Ugh!  I weighed myself this morning and saw that I'm at 209 pounds!  Time to slim down or risk looking like a puffed up meat head!

I've also been feeling like I'm letting stress dictate my diet.  Things have been hectic at work and at home.  As a result, I recently realized that I'm shoveling into my mouth ANYTHING that is put in front of me.  Eating without discretion may be fun for awhile, but I actually get tired of eating after a bit.  I'm at that point now.  Last night as I mindlessly munched on my last few bits of pizza and drank a glass of wine, it dawned on me that, not only was I not being mindful of the tastes and textures of my meal, but I was actually ignoring that fact that I was not enjoying it.  Time to turn this bus around!

So, starting today I'm cleaning up my diet.  For how long?  Permanently!  I've the done the 28 days to this and the 30 days to that.  I'm ready to commit myself to an entire year of mindful eating and increased nutrition.  In fact, I'm so ready that I'm not waiting for the old New Year's resolution phase.  I'm jumping in now and foregoing all the sweets and goodies that surround the upcoming holidays.  With two weeks to the new year, I'm looking forward to waking up January 1 ALREADY feeling slimmer and trimmer and cleaner throughout!

I'll keep you posted and maybe I'll put up some embarrassing pictures soon.

Week 1 Down!

It's always tough to jump back on the wagon, which is why the first ten days of any new diet or exercise commitment are so important.  Those first few days are painful.  My body might not be used to the strains of the new exercises.  My mind will need time to adjust its habits to fit my new diet and schedule.  But once I've cleared those early hurdles, momentum builds.  Pretty soon, I'm in full swing and the new regimen starts to feel natural.  Then I start to feel my strength come back and my clothes start to fit a little better.  After a month, I'm hooked and I can see the next several months stretching out in front of me like an open field with only a few, minor and unexpected obstacles.  By that point, though, these obstacle will be easily overcome and they can't stop me from roaring on towards my goals.

It might seem funny to start thinking about sunny summer days on the beach now in drizzly November. But I've learned over the years that I respond best to a long-term goal with a clearly defined plan.  Once I have that in place, I just follow the plan.  When I feel low motivation, I turn off my mind and just follow the plan.  When I'm too busy or stressed to think about my health, I get creative and figure out a way to simply follow the plan each and every day.

My first week is complete.  I made it to the gym on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.  I rested on Wednesday, played soccer on Thursday night for a healthy dose of fun, and spent quality time with friends on Saturday and Sunday.  I focused on eating more whole foods and keeping a solid balance to my meals.  I replaced most of my coffee with water and tried to reduce my snacking between meals.  These changes weren't drastic, just gently steering myself toward a healthier course.  The next few weeks I'll tighten the reigns a little more in an effort to prevent any major holiday binging.  By the new year, I'll already be well on my way to my goals!  Week 2, here I come.

First Two Days Complete

I know it may not sound like much, but getting back into the gym for two days in a row feels like the start of a major shift.  I was pleased to see that, although I feel out of shape, I haven't lost a lot of strength.  That means that I'll be able to make even bigger gains this time around and progress even faster toward my goals.  It's day 3 today, so I'm taking a total rest day.  The only exercise I'll do is take a long walk at lunch (I really enjoy slipping on my iPod with some cool Miles Davis and walking through the fall leaves).  I'll post again near the end of the week.

Time for a New Six-Month Challenge

OK, so there's been radio silence on my blog here for a while.  Summer came and brought some amazing vacations and lots of time outdoors with friends and family.  Throughout all of it, I was eating well and exercising regularly, so I felt great and looked fit.  Then at the end of the summer I seriously sprained my ankle in a soccer game.  Suddenly I couldn't exercise, couldn't run, well I could barely walk!  That threw me off and I got to feeling pretty low.  I'm not used to coming home from work each day and sitting on the couch for the evening with my leg up and an ice pack.  I was miserable.  No soccer!  No gym!  What was I going to do?  Dive into some snacks, I guess.  Pretty soon my diet was slipping.  Not too badly, but with the lack of activity, my weight crept up.  I needed to bounce back!

So, a few weeks ago I started my recovery.  I started to sloooowly clean up my diet.  Nothing drastic, just a little more mindful eating.  Then I started to gradually work in some exercise.  First walking, then a lot of walking, then short runs.  Now I'm back to soccer and just got back into the gym.  So, what's next?  Well, I'm goal-oriented, so I think another six-month challenge like I did last year.  This time, I'm starting a little earlier so I'll really be in full swing when the warm weather hits.  Plus, having a goal will keep my (somewhat) under control when the holiday revelry begins.  Starting tomorrow (mid-November) I'm embarking on another six months to Ryan Reynolds.  Maybe I'll tweak the name this year...I'll have to think about that.  Your suggestions are welcome.  More updates coming soon!  

Getting Strong Like Bull...or at Least Big Like Bull!

I've spent a large amount of my blog real estate talking about diet. Partly, that's because I believe the saying, "You can't out exercise a bad diet!" Also, for me the exercise part is the easy part. It's all worked out ahead of time. I know which days I'm going to be at the gym. I know what I'm going to do when I get there. I consistently push myself physically. I log my results. Diet, on the other hand, encompasses a ton of variables including time, stress, availability of healthy/unhealthy foods, socializing, etc. Diet is definitely harder for me to pre-plan and control. At the gym, I walk in the door, take off my hoodie, slip in my headphones and crank up my iPod...everything after that is a blur of activity like a well-oiled machine. I think I'd get some strange looks if I did the same thing every time I sat down to a meal!

All that being said, I wanted to take some time to give you a glimpse at my gym routine from Visual Impact Muscle Building. The general break down is 3 phases of 2 months each. Phase 1 is mass building with light cardio and dieting. Phase 2 is a hybrid of mass building and strength building with slightly more intense cardio and dieting. Phase 3 is pure strength building with very intense cardio and dieting. The idea is to add muscle early, then tighten and compress it throughout the later phases while trimming excess body fat. The result...the lean, toned, athletic look you see on Hollywood actors and many European models. (Don't laugh at me here! Do I want to be a model? No. Would I rather look like a model than a body builder? Yes. When I was young I thought Arnold was the goal...now I realize that Ryan Reynolds looks better in a suit than the Governator, so my goals have shifted.)

What does Phase 1 look like? Basically, I do two workouts that split the body into sets of complementary muscle groups. So, chest, shoulders and triceps (with abs thrown in) get worked on a day full of pushing movements, then the next day back, biceps and forearms get worked with pulling movements. The overall goal is muscle fatigue. This means I'm working each muscle with high repetition sets (12-6 reps) and I try to finish each set at a point where I can barely, shakily, squeeze out the last repetition. I round out the workout with 15 minutes of intervals on a treadmill walking for 90 seconds then running for 30 seconds. I alternate Workout A and Workout B in a 2 days on, 1 day off, then 2 days on, 2 days off schedule for 4 total days in the gym. Right now, that's Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday from 5 to 6 a.m. (crazy, I know, but that's the only time when my 2-year old daughter is not awake!). On my off days, I try to rest or do yoga.

If you've ever seen someone working to complete muscle fatigue, you'll note that it looks very different than most guys in the gym. Most guys pump for a couple of reps, then sit around zoning out, watching TV, chatting with their buddies or hitting on the cute girl at the leg abductor machine. Guys shooting for muscle fatigue are using baby weights and working against the clock, moving quickly from one set to the next with about 35 seconds of rest, and each set ends with what looks like the weakest, sorriest excuse for a strength exercise ever. The secret is that that final repetition is the golden moment when microscopic muscle fibers are being torn to tiny shreds only to be rebuilt over the next few days into bigger, stronger, shirt-tightening crowd pleasers. If you leave the gym feeling like a quivering mass of jell-o, you can bet that you'll come back in a few days looking more muscular than the guys you see throwing up big weight but always looking soft and puffy.

I'll be transitioning into Phase 2 in just a few weeks and I'll pause then to give you a glimpse at that routine. I'm actually excited about it because it involves a regime that I tried once when I was in college that definitely tested my physical limits. For now, though, I'm really enjoying going in 4 times a week to crank out tons of reps on tiny weights and watch the inches increase at my shoulders, chest and arms while they decrease at my waist and hips.