audioescape's quest for the single digit BF% - Body-for-Life

[audioescape]

Day 20 - HIIT Cardio

Rain is over and today it is such a sunny day. I rested alright and woke up with a little headache and dryness in my eyes. I wandered around the house like a zombie for about an hour, drank lots of water and downed my BCAAs and L-Glutamine caps.

After that, I jumped on the bike (Pau van Dyk playing on the headphones). It was quite a cardio session! I enjoyed it very much. Lots of positive thoughts running through my mind. I almost drop the ball in the very last sprint, but I made it through.

I had to scream a couple of times. Ever done that? The neighbor's dogs started barking. lol. That's what I like of doing cardio at home. I can push the limits, sweat, grunt, scream, fart, blow my nose in my shirt, spit, lol, whatever. (ok, I know I just lost all my female following right there. ). The point is, no one's around. I would hold back if I did cardio at the gym, though.

Overall, a great cardio session.


NUTRITION LOG:

Here's a blueprint of what I'll be eating today.

Meal 1: (post cardio) 10:20 a.m.
1 1/2 scoops of whey
6 oz. of skim milk
2 cups of coffee (only the goodstuff... high mountain coffee from the hills of Costa Rica).

Meal 2: 12:30 a.m.
Omelet (3 egg whites / 1 egg yolks)
Whole wheat tortilla
2 tbsp. of natty yogurt

Meal 3: 4:00 p.m.
1 Protein Bar (Lean body, Detour or Myoplex)

Meal 4: 8:00 p.m.
Unspecified... but probably...
1 small can of tuna w/ mustard
Whole wheat tortilla

Meal 5: 11:00 p.m.(pre bed)
1/2 cup of cottage cheese
1/2 cup of flax/oats blend (thats 85% flax, 15% oats)
1/4 cup of light yogurt

SUPPLEMENT LOG:

Preworkout: BCAA's (2 caps) / L-Glutamine (2 caps)
Fatburners: Twinlab's Ripped Fuel (2 caps with food)
Multi: None
EFAs: 1 cap of flaxseed (1000 mg) w/ food
Prebed: BCAA's (2 caps) / L-Glutamine (2 caps)


FINAL THOUGHT:

As far as training goes, this very cardio workout wraps up week 3. I'll be posting the usual "free day" comments (and meals) tomorrow. Progress pics will be taken on Monday, and posted probably that day or the next.

It is hot outside! I'm sweating like crazy. I guess HIIT had something to do with it. Let's wrap it up with a nice quote, OK?

Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.

~Henry Ford

See you tomorrow,

-audioescape.

[audioescape]

Yeah!!!!!

It took me three weeks of posting (at least once a day) to get to page 2. The journal's growing... Anyone care to comment, yet?

Anyways, there's been like 200 plus visits. If that's you, thank you for stopping by.

[audioescape]

Day 21 - FREE DAY

Good morning!

Ahh ... nothing like a well deserved day off to relax and chill out. I just got my first "free" meal of the day (I don't use the word "cheat" anymore... in ain't cheating if it's a part of your success plan). Some awesome peanut-butter pancakes. As far as the rest of the day goes, I'll hang out with some friends for lunch and I'll be working at home for the rest of the afternoon, so I don't know what I'll be eating. I'll try keep you posted.

NUTRITION LOG:

8:30 a.m. Breakfast
Peanut butter pancakes
Lots of coffee
Some white bread

Everything else... will post later...

SUPPLEMENT LOG:

No supps. I'm giving my liver a break today...

FINAL THOUGHT:

Week 3 is officially over. Check out my progress pics for Week 3 tomorrow evening. (I'm planning on taking my progress pics every Monday evening). Thanks for stopping!



See ya,

-audioescape.

[audioescape]

This guy called Nik, wrote on his BFL page the following about "free days" (His free days are on Saturday, mine are Sundays, but the principle is the same):

Just for a mental note, there are 52 Saturday?s in a year and 313 non-Saturdays. Compare eating healthy for 313 days a year and not healthy only 52 days a year to eating ? way healthy throughout the year. To me, eating ? way healthy is torture and ridden with guilt.

-Nik Bhattacharya

That's why a dig this once-a-week free day philosophy.

[audioescape]

Week 4

Day 22 - Lower Body

What is up, fellow trainees!?

Mondayyyyyyy....... bloddy Mondayyy!!! lol. Monday's are not easy. At least, I woke up well rested and ready to go. Chugged some whey, BCAAs, etc, and headed to the gym. Here are the numbers...


Quads

Dumbbell Squats
12 x 60
10 x 70
8 x 80
6 x 100
-Pump set-
12 x 90 - Dumbbell Squats
14 x 90 - Leg Extensions

Hamstrings

Dumbbell Deadlifts
12 x 60
10 x 70
8 x 85
6 x 90
-Pump set-
12 x 85 - Dumbbell Deadlifts
13 x 90 - Lying Leg Curls

Calves

Standing Calf Raise
20 x 70
15 x 75
12 x 80
10 x 85
-Pump set-
20 x 75 - Standing Calf Raise
20 x 80 - Standing Dumbbell Calf Raise

Abs

Ab Crunches
40 x 4
-Pump set-
45 x 1 - Ab Crunches
50 x 1 - Leg Raises

Forearms

Barbell Wrist Curls
20 x 25
15 x 30
12 x 35
10 x 40
-Pump set-
14 x 30 -- Barbell Wrist Curls ##FAILED at 14##
30 x 15 -- Reverse Barbell Curls


NOTES/COMMENTS:

Quads hurt quite a bit today. From the very beginning. I reached a nice high point right there at the leg extensions, and I really felt the calves working. (Had to lower the weight a little, compared to last time). I felt that deadlifts worked my lower back more than they worked the hamstrings... Overall, I think it was a good session. Got me feeling great so far down the day.


NUTRITION LOG:

Meal 1: 5:00 a.m. (pre workout)
1 1/2 scoops of whey
5 oz. of skim milk

Meal 1: 7:00 a.m. (post workout)
2 scoops of whey
6 oz. of water

Meal 3: 9: 30 a.m. (post workout)
Omelet (3 egg whites/1 egg yolk)
Whole wheat flour tortilla
2 tbsp. of natural yogurt

Meal 4: 12:30 p.m.
Chicken salad
Beans

Meal 5: 4:15 p.m.
1 small can o' tuna
Whole wheat flour tortilla
Mustard!!!

Meal 5: 7:00 p.m.
Don't know yet... probably 1/2 a protein bar and some fruit

Meal 6: 10:00 p.m.
1/2 cup of oats/flax seed (no sugar) blend
1/4 cup of yogurt
1/2 cup of cottage cheese


SUPPLEMENT LOG:

The usual.....

Pre workout:
BCAA's (2 caps)
L-Glutamine (2 cap, 2000 mg)
Post workout:
BCAA's (2 caps)
L-Glutamine (1 cap, 1000 mg)
Fatburners: TwinLab's Ripped Fuel 5x (2 caps)
Multi: None
EFAs: 1 cap of flaxseed (1000 mg) with lunch
Prebed:BCAA's (2 caps)
L-Glutamine (2 cap, 2000 mg)


FINAL THOUGHT:

A good start for WEEK 4. I'll be traveling next Saturday, so this week will be kind of a crazy one, and WEEK 5 will definitely be a challenge. I'm actually looking forward to that. I'll be TOTALLY out of my comfort zone. No Gym (just a lame fitness centre ), no absolute control of nutrition... So I'll have to plan my stuff ahead, and make good choices. I'll also carry with me my protein bars and stuff like that. We'll see how it turns out.

Alright, that's it for today. Here's a quote:

One half of knowing what you want is knowing what you must give up before you get it.

~Sidney Howard

See you tomorrow,

-audioescape.

[audioescape]

Week 3's - Progress Pictures

Hi there! I'm trying to make Monday evening, progress pics night. (xcept from next week for I'll be out of town). Alright, here we go:

WEEK 3





Comparison...

Alright... I think there's being some progress being made. It is harder to compare week by week, so I'll keep posting the first week, and the two most recent ones.



Start --------------------- Week 2 --------------- Week 3


And that's bout it. Since I'm traveling on Saturday, I'll get my 1st month's readings on Friday (BF%, weight, measures, etc). Thanks for visiting.

-audioescape.

[audioescape]

Man!!! Woke up at 7... not early enough... even for my 20 mins. of HIIT (I have to be at work by 8, and beat traffic). So with a lot of anger and dissapointment, I left to work without working out. IT STINKS! I'll do my HIIT as soon as I get back home, and I'll throw some obliques training, just for kicks. I've been keeping nutrition in check, as usual (will post the meals in the evening).

What blows is, I have a class tonite, so I'll be getting on the bike by 9:00 p.m. or so... Missing an early workout like this one drives me nuts!!!

Anyways, see ya at night,

-audioescape.

[audioescape]

Just got notified that I'll be traveling on all day FRIDAY, not Saturday. So I might have to do a little switcharoo in my training plans. Tomorrow, I'll work UPPER BODY, as planned. Thrusday, instead of HIIT, I'll do LOWER BODY (which was supposed to be on Friday).

I got my ride to the airport at 6 a.m., meaning I still can squeeze 20 minutes of HIIT before leaving. And then repeat on Saturday. I know it can be kinda excruciating to do HIIT in consecutive days, but in this situation I don't see any other option. Sunday I'll take it off as far as training goes.

Alright, that's news to me. See ya later,

-audioescape.

[audioescape]

Day 23 - HIIT Cardio

So I skipped classe and stayed longer at work finishing up some stuff for my trip. Then I came home and did my HIIT Cardio session. I was running outta air a lot (blocked nostril), but instead of slowing down on my sprints, I pushed them even more and then, I tried to get my air back on my recovery times.

I almost dropped the ball right there at my very last minute (level 10)... but I didn't

Also, I did some ab crunches for my obliques (4 x 70).

NUTRITION LOG:

Since I usually post most of my meals before I eat them, it's kinda funny to post them after they've been digested.

Meal 1: 7:00 a.m.
1 1/2 scoops of whey
6 oz. of skim milk
1 cup of coffee

Meal 2: 9:00 a.m.
Omelet (3 egg whites / 1 egg yolks)
Whole wheat tortilla
2 tbsp. of natty yogurt

Meal 3: 12:30 p.m.
Chicken salad
Beans

Meal 4: 4:15 p.m.
Chicken salad wrap
(left overs from lunch, lol with whole wheat tortilla)

Meal 5: 7:30 p.m.(post cardio)
2 scoops of whey
6 oz. of skim milk

Meal 5: 10:00 p.m.
1/2 cup of cottage cheese
1/2 protein bar


SUPPLEMENT LOG:

Fatburners: Twinlab's Ripped Fuel (2 caps with food)
Multi: None
EFAs: 1 cap of flaxseed (1000 mg) w/ food
Prebed: BCAA's (2 caps) / L-Glutamine (2 caps)


FINAL THOUGHT:

Okay, dudes and girls. That was my first evening cardio session... and hopefully, my last one, too! I rather do my cardio first thing in the morning. One cool thing, though. I could have skipped working out today... I really wanted to at some point! I guess this goes to show how commited I am to the program. So, even if I don't get the exact results I'm aiming for, at least it will not be out of laziness.

Remember...

The time will come when winter will ask you what you were doing all summer.

~Henry Clay

See you tomorrow,

-audioescape.

[ChoctawJay]

wow good job you put on a lot of muscle for just 3 weeks and your top abs are starting to show some definition. you around 10-11% right now?

[audioescape]

Originally Posted by ChoctawJay

wow good job you put on a lot of muscle for just 3 weeks and your top abs are starting to show some definition. you around 10-11% right now?

Thanks man! I don't know where my BF% is right now, but since I'm leaving on Friday, I'll get a BF reading on Thursday to see how I'm doing. Don't think is 10-11 yet... maybe 12-13ish? We'll see for sure on Thursday.

Thanks for posting!

[audioescape]

Morning boys and girls!

I forgot my stats at home, so I'll be posting them later on this evening. Just wanted to post some thoughts on the workout. I think it went great... BUT... as you'll see when I post the stats, I failed in many of my pump sets. Although I failed a bunch of times, I managed to recover and finish alright. I also did my ab workout. I'm not sure if I'm hitting a wall here, or if I'm increasing the weight a little too much for my capacity.

Good thing, though: I felt the muscles really working, and they were definitely challenged every step of the way (I feel sore now). By the way, I spoke to one of the instructors and he'll help me out with measurements tomorrow, first thing in the morning.

Ok that's if for now, check back later for the complete stats.

Thanks for stopping by,

-audioescape.

[audioescape]

Day 24 - Upper Body

Hey! Hey! Hey!

Here they are, as promised... today's lucky numbers! (See comments below)

Chest

Barbell Bench Press
12 x 90
10 x 100
8 x 105
6 x 110
-Pump set-
10 x 95 - Dumbbell Bench Press ##FAILED at the 10 REP##
10 x 70 - Dumbbell Flys ##FAILED at the 10 REP##

Shoulders

Dumbbell Shoulder Press
12 x 40
10 x 50
8 x 70
6 x 80
-Pump set-
12x 60 - Dumbbell Shoulder Press
20 x 100 - Cable Raise

Back

Pull-downs
12 x 80
10 x 85
8 x 90
6 x 100
-Pump set-
12 x 90 - Pull-downs
12 x 45 - Dumbbell rows

Triceps

CableTricep Extension
12 x 70
10 x 80
8 x 90
6 x 100
-Pump set-
10 x 80 - Cable Tricep Extension
11 x 40 - Lying DB Tricep Extension ##FAILED @ 10th REP

Biceps

EZ Bar Curls (standing)
12 x 20
10 x 30
8 x 40
6 x 50
-Pump set-
12 x 40 -- EZ Bar Curls
12 x 30 -- Hammers

Abs

Ab crunches
4 x 45
-Pump set-
1 x 45 -- Ab Crunches
1 x 50 -- Leg raises

NOTES/COMMENTS:

I fugured I needed some variety, 3 1/2 weeks into the program, so I switched some of the exercises. For instance, I did Barbell Bench Press instead of Dumbbells. The weight on that one doesn't count the bar weight (which is not 45, for sure, It's a lighter bar, not sure about its exact weight, tho).

Maybe that's why I kinda burned out there. I failed at SHOULDERS, CHEST and TRICEPS. Not becaused I wanted to go failure, I just couldn't reach my 12 reps in the pump sets. Is that a good thing? A bad thing? Should I back down the weight a little next time. Maybe. Dunno. We'll see. As I've been saying, I'll be out on a work trip, and I'll work out at this cheap fitness center at the hotel. So I'll focus more on working the muscle groups and hitting my high points whenever necessary.

We'll see how it goes.


NUTRITION LOG:

The usual...

Meal 1: 5:15 a.m. (pre workout)
2 scoops of whey
6 oz. of skim milk
Tiny bit of a left over protein bar

Meal 2: 7:00 a.m. (post workout)
2 scoops of whey
5 oz. of water
Cup of coffee

Meal 3: 9:30 a.m.
Omelet (3 egg whites/1 egg yolk)
Whole wheat flour tortilla
3 tbsp of natty yogurt

Meal 4: 12:30 p.m.
Chicken salad
Black beans (1 portion)

Meal 5: 4:15 p.m.
1 Whole wheat flour tortilla
Chicken (left ofvers from lunch!)

Meal 6: 6:45 p.m.
Chicken (1 portion... can't get 'nuff chick'n)
Beans
Salad

Meal 7: 9:15 p.m.
1/4 cup of cottage cheese
1/2 protein bar


SUPPLEMENT LOG:

Pre workout:
BCAA's (2 caps)
L-Glutamine (1 cap, 1000 mg)
Post workout:
BCAA's (2 caps)
L-Glutamine (2 cap, 2000 mg)
Fatburners: TwinLab Ripped Fuel 5x (2 caps)
Multi: No multi
EFAs: 1 cap of flaxseed (1000 mg) with lunch
Prebed:
BCAA's (2 caps)
L-Glutamine (2 cap, 1000 mg)


FINAL THOUGHT:

As I said a couple of post before this one, even though tomorrow's HIIT Day, I'll be doint Leg Work, since I'm traveling all day Friday. (Will do CARDIO before leaving very very early Friday morning).

About today's workout: I have mixed feelings. I didn't achieve the reps I was after. BUT I think I did worked my muscles today... I can feel'em. They're sore, but not in a bad way. So I think that's a good thing.

Finally, a quote by the great Ben F.

Well done is better than well said.

~Benjamin Franklin

See you tomorrow,

-audioescape.

[audioescape]

Evening everybody.

Well, before I post my stats for the day, let me tell ya about my measurements. I went to the gym first thing in the morning, and the usual AM instructor wasn't there, just another dude who couldn't help me out because he lost some keys or something and was busy.

Anyways, I returned later on, and this other instructor measured my BF with calipers (as they always do at this gym). He punched some numbers and it came out to be 15.7%

The other instructor who measured my BF before starting the program came up with 14.5 or so...

So, either this first dude SERIOUSLY messed up the first measurement, or I put some serious FAT in this almost 4 weeks!!!

I don't know, man. There's no way you can put on fat they way I've been eating (supa clean, no binges on free days and such -- c'mon, you've seen my meals), and the way I've been working out. And, yes my thyroid is fine.

How reliable are this calipers? Is it better to take a BF reading with one of thos fancy thins with sensors?

Anyhow, I think this first instructor blew it with his calculations. I wasn't 14% when I started, maybe 16-plus. Anyways, I haven't lost that many fat in this 4 weeks. I can see I've put on a little muscle, or at least I don't look as out of shape as I used to. I'm definitely feeling better by the day.

But still... I have about 8-10 weeks to go from the now official 15.7% down to 9%, which is my set goal.

Can it be done? I BELIEVE SO! And I'll get there or die trying. I'm putting even more determination, meaning super clean foods, one "cheat/free" meal a week, and going the extra mile on my cardio workouts. I won't do extra cardio (more sessions, slow paced, etc), because that would take from my weight training and eat up the little muscle I have.

Alright, thanks for reading. Stay tuned... numbers for the day are coming up

[audioescape]

Day 25 - Lower Body

Ok, here we go fellas. Today was kinda crazy. I had to go to work and prepare a bunch of stuff for tomorrow's trip. I had a class at night, and I haven't finished packing, so let's do this quick...

Quads

Barbell Squats
12 x 70
10 x 80
8 x 90
6 x 100
-Pump set-
12 x 95 - Barbell Squats
15 x 90 - Leg Extensions

Hamstrings

Barbell Deadlifts
12 x 70
10 x 75
8 x 80
6 x 100
-Pump set-
12 x 90 - Dumbbell Deadlifts
15 x 92.5 - Lying Leg Curls

Calves

Standing Calf Raise
20 x 70
15 x 75
12 x 80
10 x 85
-Pump set-
20 x 80 - Standing Calf Raise
20 x 80 - Standing Dumbbell Calf Raise

Abs

Ab Crunches
45 x 4
-Pump set-
50 x 1 - Ab Crunches
50 x 1 - Leg Raises

Forearms

Barbell Wrist Curls
20 x 25
15 x 30
12 x 35
10 x 40
-Pump set-
15 x 35 -- Barbell Wrist Curls ##FAILED at 14##
15 x 30 -- Reverse Barbell Curls


NOTES/COMMENTS:

No comment... gotta go finish packin' some bags!!!

NUTRITION LOG:

CRAZYYYYY Day regarding food. Kinda hard to keep up with the times, lots and lots of stuff to do... here you have it...

Meal 1: 5:00 a.m. (pre workout)
1 1/2 scoops of whey
5 oz. of skim milk

Meal 1: 7:00 a.m. (post workout)
2 scoops of whey
6 oz. of water

Meal 3: 9: 30 a.m. (post workout)
Omelet (3 egg whites/1 egg yolk)
Whole wheat flour tortilla

## UNTIL HERE, EVERYTHING WAS FINE...##

Meal 4: 12:00 p.m.
1/2 MRM response bar

Meal 5: 2:15 p.m.
FIsh (1 portion)
Salad
Some beans

Meal 5: 5:00 p.m.
1/2 Myoplex Bar

Meal 6: 9:00 p.m.
More beans... and more fish... (nothing else at home)

SUPPLEMENT LOG:

The usual.....

Pre workout:
BCAA's (2 caps)
L-Glutamine (2 cap, 2000 mg)
Post workout:
BCAA's (2 caps)
L-Glutamine (1 cap, 1000 mg)
Fatburners: TwinLab's Ripped Fuel 5x (1 cap)
Multi: None
EFAs: 1 cap of flaxseed (1000 mg) with lunch
Prebed:BCAA's (2 caps)
L-Glutamine (2 cap, 2000 mg)


FINAL THOUGHT:

Guys and girls, thanks so much for visiting this little journal. As you read in my previous post, I'm a little down because my BF readings aren't what I expect them to be. But, what's a boy to do? Show must go on! Gotta go now, I have to wake up at 4:00 a.m. to do cardio.


See you tomorrow,

-audioescape.

[kettle1531]

Wow, i've enjoyed reading your fitness journey. Thanks for the links and ideas for nutrition. Best of luck to you - your GF will flip!

[ChoctawJay]

you dont look like 15% but i guess you could have body fat in other places.. keep up the good work

[audioescape]

Originally Posted by kettle1531

Wow, i've enjoyed reading your fitness journey. Thanks for the links and ideas for nutrition. Best of luck to you - your GF will flip!

lol. I think she'll flip if she finds out I'm following a strict diet regime. She's more like "yeah, exercise all you want but feel free to eat whatever" aproach. We differ in that area, of course.

Originally Posted by ChoctawJay

you dont look like 15% but i guess you could have body fat in other places.. keep up the good work

Yeah... I have chunky legs... It's like Barney, man! Huge thighs, no matching calves.

Thank you guys for the support.

[audioescape]

Man... I'm so SAD I couldn't update the journal yesterday. I just came totally beat up and crashed in the hotel room, after unpacking of course. Let's go in chronologica order...

Day 26 - HIIT Cardio

I woke up at 4:00 a.m. and did my 20-min HIIT session. I knew if I didn't do it before leaving I would not do it at all later. It went AWESOME. It actually got me all energized and travel ready.

NUTRITION LOG:

It is HARD to travel and eat right. I didn't have much options, and luckily I brought a variety of protein bars with me for yesterday and the rest of the week. But, lets be realistic: after the 3rd bar of the day you're kinda sick of them. lol. Here's what I ate:

Meal 1: 4:50 a.m. (post cardio)
1 1/2 scoops of whey
6 oz. of skim milk
1 cup of coffee
A bite on a Detour bar (I was hungry)

Meal 2: 8:05 a.m.
3/4 of a Detour bar (too darn sweeeeet)

Meal 3: 10:00 p.m.
1/2 Oh Yeah! Bar (man! that bar got me screaming OH YEAH!!! First time I tried them... it is incredible. Better than a candy bar).
I tasted some of the airplane food... YUCK! Not worth trying it. I ate the fruit, though. A slice of pineapple.

Meal 4: 1:00 p.m.
1/2 of the Oh Yeah! Bar

Meal 5: 4:00 p.m.(post cardio)
1 Rockin' Roll Bar

Meal 6: 8:00 p.m.
Chinese chicken with mushrooms (they took us to a Chinese restaurant... not a lot of healthy options, but this one was kinda OK).
1 portion of brown rice

Meal 7: 11:00 p.m.(post cardio)
1/2 Oh Yeah! Bar
1/4 of a pear


Day 27 - HIIT Cardio

Had meetings from 8:00 a.m., so I woke up at 6:00 a.m. I was sooo sleepy from yesterday. Didn't wanted to go do cardio. ALMOST skipped it. But I finally ended up going anyways. Turns out this fitness centre is quite nice. 4 cardio machines in awesome shape (I just use the stat bike), a set of new dumbbells (up to 30 lbs each, I think), and a bench. It is a tiny place, though. But you'll see me hitting my high points... or at least trying to.

I did HIIT in the bike. Is one of those laid-back bikes, where you put your hands by the seat. It's kinda awkard. But the session when fine. And guess what, after finishing, I was feeling great. I did ab crunches, too.

NUTRITION LOG:

Again, not easy to find good food in restaurants and such. But I did my best.

Meal 1: 6:50 a.m. (post cardio)
1/4 Oh Yeah! Bar
1/2 pear

Meal 2: 8:30 a.m.
Some sort of weird egg thing
1 portion of light yogurt
1/2 banana

Meal 3: 11:30 a.m. (went to the Cracker Barrel with the crew, good stuff)
Grilled chicken tenderloin
Turlip Greens
Tossed salad

Meal 4: 3:00 p.m.
1 Rockin' Roll bar (300 cals, 20 grams of protein)

Meal 5: 6:00 p.m.(post cardio)
1/3 Oh Yeah! Bar
1/4 pear

Meal 6: 8:00 p.m.
Don't know yet...

Meal 7: 11:00 p.m.(post cardio)
Probably will skip this one... I'll be sleeping.


SUPPLEMENT LOG:

Won't be doing much supps this weeks. I'm almost out of BCAAs, so I left them home. I brought some l-glutamine, the fat burners, and that's it.

Fatburners: Twinlab's Ripped Fuel (1 cap with food)
Multi: None
EFAs: none
Prebed: L-Glutamine (2 caps)


FINAL THOUGHT:

Okay, ladies and gents. That's if for this to days. Thanks, thanks, thanks, for reading through this enormous post. :P I'll be doing my best to update daily. Gotta admit, It won't be easy to workout out of the comfort zone of my regular gym, but I'll do my best.

I want to train tomorrow, not a full blown out session, but at least do something. Since, I figure my calories for this week are going to be a little bit out of whack, compared to when I'm home. We'll see.

See you tomorrow,

-audioescape.

[audioescape]

Day 28 - FREE DAY

What's up boys and girls?

How's that Sunday coming out?

Doin' pretty well myself. I went to the fitness centre first thing in the morning... which for me was around 9:30 I didn't want to do HIIT, since I've done it the last two days, also, I didn't want to do my regular workout because I'll be doing that tomorrow. But I wanted to do something. So I did one of those Men's Health 15 minute workouts (the one featured this month), that includes a bunch of lunges, squats, etc with dumbbells. It was pretty good and I broke a sweat after the first few minutes. Afterwards, I did some traps exercises, followed by some wrist curls for the forearms.

From the nutrition side of things, I figured I could take this as some sort of a FREE DAY, since, well... Sundays are my FREE DAYs anyways. I ate half a protein bar and a little fruit before and after my workout. I went with my boss and some other folks to PF Chang's for lunch at noon. We order a bunch of good stuff, Orange Peel Shrimp, some chicken, noodles, etc. I got my hands on the shrimp, the chicken and brown rice. Then I ate one of this tiny PF Chang's desserts (apple pie). After that we all went to Starbucks for some coffee.

At 4:30 p.m. I ate half protein bar for I was starving.

Then, around 6:00 p.m. we went to a barbecue with some partners & clients... and gotta admit... that was quite a cheat meal. (I usually don't call my free meals "cheatsAwesome shredded meat (pork and beef), potato salad, old style beans... and of course... some brownie for dessert.

Alrighty... that's my Sunday for ya. How about yours?

I'll get back to the program, as scheduled, tomorrow morning. Meetings start @ 8:00 a.m., so I'll be working upper body at 5:00 a.m. I might throw some ab workouts, and a little cardio in the mix (against my usual training). On the nutrition side, I'll get back to the small meals every 3 - 4 hours.

This wraps up week 4!!! A month on the program. I can feel I've been doing some decent progress... kinda slow, but steady. I know this week will be hard. But I'm totally motivated to make it work. I'll keep you informed.


Thanks for visiting,


-audioescape.

[audioescape]

Week 5

Day 29 - Upper Body

What's up, fellow trainees???

Week 5 is here. As you know, I'm on the road so I had to work with what I could find in the hotel's fitness centre, which is a set of dumbbells (from 5 lbs to 30 lbs). It was kinda hard to hit my high points in the chest workout. I think I hit a pretty nice high point everywhere else. I don't have my gym logs here with me, so here's what I kinda remember doing today...

Chest

Duumbbell Bench Press
30 x 30
25 x 40
20 x 50
20 x 60
-Pump set-
15 x 60 - Dumbbell Bench Press
15 x 60 - Dumbbell Flys

Shoulders

Dumbbell Shoulder Press
15 x 30
12 x 40
8 x 50
6 x 60
-Pump set-
12 x 50 - Dumbbell Shoulder Press
12 x 30 - Lat raises

Back

Dumbbell Rows
25 x 30
20 x 40
15 x 50
12 x 60
-Pump set-
25 x 30 - Rows
20 x 30 - Dumbbell rows

Triceps

French Press
12 x 30
10 x 40
8 x 50
6 x 60
-Pump set-
12 x 40 - French Press
12 x 20 - Kick backs

Biceps

Curls (standing)
12 x 30
10 x 40
8 x 50
6 x60
-Pump set-
12 x 40 -- Curls
12 x 30 -- Hammers

Abs

Ab crunches (obliques)
8 x 45

NOTES/COMMENTS:

As you can see, I had to go higher on reps to reach the high points, since I'm limited as far as weight goes. Overall, I think it was a great workout, you know... considering. After that I went to have a days with non-stop meetings. I'm dead tired... but I'm still here writing my report.

NUTRITION LOG:

Nutrition was AWESOME today. No complaints at all. Could have not planned better myself. You'll see lots of protein bars showing up (it's all I got... either that or snickers, lol). And even though I hit 8 meals... I think they where rather small.

Meal 1: 5:15 a.m. (pre workout)
1/2 Protein bar

Meal 2: 7:00 a.m. (post workout)
1/2 Protein bar
1 portion of fruit

Meal 3: 9:30 a.m.
1/2 Protein bar

Meal 4: 12:30 p.m.
Grilled chicken
Veggies (1 portion)
Some greens

Meal 5: 3:45 p.m.
1/2 Protein bar

Meal 6: 5:30 p.m.
1/2 Protein bar

Meal 7: 7:00 p.m.
Steamed Salmon (1 portion)
Veggies
Salad (no dressing)

Meal 8: 9:30 p.m.
1/2 Protein bar
1/2 pear

SUPPLEMENT LOG:

Pre workout:
L-Glutamine (2 cap, 2000 mg)
Post workout:
BCAA's (2 caps)
L-Glutamine (2 cap, 2000 mg)
Fatburners: TwinLab Ripped Fuel 5x (2 caps)
Multi: No multi
EFAs: nome
Prebed: L-Glutamine (2 cap, 2000 mg)


FINAL THOUGHT:

Overall... a great start for week 5. Nutrition was great, the workout was empowering. At first, I didn't expect much progress to come out of a week like this, but seeing today... I think there's potential to keep moving towards my goal.

Alright... time for bed.

See you tomorrow,

-audioescape.

[audioescape]

Sup, boys and girls?

Sorry I couldn't post yesterday. Came to the hotel around 11:00 p.m. Just too exhausted. I did some HIIT Cardio first thing in the morning yesterday. And nutrition was excellent throughout the whole day. Cannot say the same thing about today (read on for details).

Day 31 - Lower Body

Alright, so I did Lower Body today. It wasn't as hard to hit my high points, but bare in mind that I'm used to lift more weight with my legs at lower reps, so I had to do more reps to "feel da burn", if you know what I mean. Since I don't have my log in here, I didn't wrote down the numbers... I'll do my best to remember the stats...

Quads

DB Squats
30 x 30
25 x 40
20 x 50
20 x 60
-Pump set-
20 x 50 - DB Squats
20 x 50 - Lunges

Hamstrings

DB Deadlifts
30 x 30
25 x 40
20 x 50
20 x 60
-Pump set-
25 x 50 - Dumbbell Deadlifts
25 x 50 - Can't remember the name of it... saw it on a Men's Health

Calves

Standing Calf Raise
30 x 30
25 x 40
20 x 50
20 x 60
-Pump set-
25 x 60 - Standing Calf Raise
25 x 60 - Standing Dumbbell Calf Raise

Abs

Ab Crunches
4 x 50
-Pump set-
50 x 1 - Ab Crunches
50 x 1 - Leg Raises

Forearms

## I had to skip forearms 'cause I was running late... will do them tomorrow


NUTRITION LOG:

Food went well... I gotta admit... I drop the ball at dinner... went to eat at some friend's house, and I tried the homemade dark chocolate mousse they prepared for dessert. It wasn't much though, but I think I'll treat that as the cheat meal of the weak. So I'll stay on diet on Sunday.

Meal 1: 6:00 a.m. (pre workout)
1/2 protein bar

Meal 1: 7:20 a.m. (post workout)
1/2 protein bar
1/2 apple

Meal 3: 9: 30 a.m. (post workout)
1 MRM Response bar (200 cals)
1/2 pear

Meal 4: 12:30 p.m.
Grilled chicken
1 small portion of pasta (no sauce)

Meal 5: 4:30 p.m.
1/2 protein bar

Meal 5: 6:00 p.m.
1/2 Protein bar

Meal 6: 7:30 p.m. (@ friend's house)
Grilled Chicken
Brown rice
Veggies...
... decadent choc mousse...

Also... I gotta say I've been drinking a whole bunch of coffee... more than I'm used to to keep up with the meetings. I put some half'n'half on it, I know it's not ideal, but I don't drink black coffee (americano, that is).

SUPPLEMENT LOG:

Pre workout:
L-Glutamine (2 cap, 2000 mg)
Post workout:
BCAA's (2 caps)
L-Glutamine (1 cap, 1000 mg)
Fatburners: TwinLab's Ripped Fuel 5x (1 cap)
Multi: None
EFAs: none
Prebed:
L-Glutamine (2 cap, 2000 mg)


FINAL THOUGHT:

Ok, friends. That's is for today and tomorrow. As you can imagine, I'm beaten. Just going to go straight to bed now. Thanks for reading this stuff. Will try to post tomorrow, although, since it is HIIT, I might do a double post on Friday.

Until then,

-audioescape.

[ChoctawJay]

man you use really high reps.. im guessing your more focused on muscle defenition and body fat loss

[audioescape]

Sup boys and girlz!?!?!?!?!?!

I'm so sorry I haven't posted in the last, what... 4 days? Crud... Thing was, on Thrusday I had tons of meetings and finished late. Friday, I finally got together with some friends in town, and Saturday I returned back home (traveled all day). So, no Internet access for me. Sunday I rested (but didn't take it OFF, diet-wise, will explain later).

So TODAY... I'll update you in some brief posts that will explain what happened in this last couple of days.

And I'll post my regular training/nutrition log for the day, also. Man, it is goooood to be home! Back to normal. The trip was quite awesome in every sense, tho.

Originally Posted by ChoctawJay

man you use really high reps.. im guessing your more focused on muscle defenition and body fat loss

My man, Deepak Choctaw!!!

No way, man. Well, yeah. I'm trying to lose as much fat as possible. But I usually don't do high reps like last week. I had to do it like that, because at the hotel I was staying at, they only had up to 30 lbs dumbbells.

[audioescape]

Alright, dudes and dudettes...

This is for last Thursday & Friday. I couldn't post for the reasons listed above. As you can imagine, I cannot remember any details whatsoever (specially when it comes to food), but I'll do my best. So here we go.


Day 32 - HIIT Cardio

Quite a nice session. I finally got used to the stinkin' laid back bike. lol. Nutrition was great. Cannot say the same thing about Friday...


Day 33 - Upper Body

Ok, so Friday started GREAT. Awesome upper body workout. Nutrition was doing fine until... Power lunch with the execs... at PF Changs! Oh no... Everybody order this awesome platters to share... and I was like... what the hey! I'm diggin' in. So I ate the kun-pows, and the orange peel shrimp, and the oily fatty thingis, and the brown rice, and else. Didn't get dessert, tho.

I decided to take it as my day OFF. And keep Sunday on diet.

But it didn't stop there...

Friday evening. I finally had the chance to go to some friends' house. We had a blast. Dinner? Shrimp cocktail and pizza... yes... pizza. That was definitely my day off.

Yesterday (Sunday) and Saturday, I returned to my diet. But I'll leave that for another post.

Thanks for reading this.

-audioescape.

[audioescape]

Moving on to what happened yesterday and the day before...

Day 34 - HIIT Cardio

Went to the gym to do some cardio at 8:00 a.m. Left to the airport at 10:30. Spent the whole day traveling and eating protein bars as my meals (for lack of better options).

Day 35 - day OFF

I intentionally use the words "day off", and not "free day", and here's why: Because I "cheated" big time on Friday, I decided to stay on the diet on Sunday. I didn't workout though. I think after 6 days of training and trying to make it work away from home, I deserved some rest.

Nutrition was great...

Meal 1: 10:00 a.m.
1/4 cup Oats
1/2 skim milk
1 scoop of vanilla whey

Meal 2: 2:00 p.m.
Fish (1 portion)
Beans
Green salad

Meal 3: 5:30 p.m.
Chicken salad
Beans

Meal 4: 9:30 p.m.
Same as breakfast

I'm telling you... I was GLAD to eat some REAL FOOD. I was a little sick of only eating bars on Saturday (and lots of bars during the trip, usually for snacks).

Alright! That's my report for days 34 & 35... Stay tune for a current blown out report on today's workout!


-audioescape.

[audioescape]

Day 35 - Lower Body

Sooooooooo glad to be home. So glad to go to my gym and workout. So glad to have access to a bunch of good food. However, I woke up very sleepy and it was kinda hard to get into the flow of the workout at first. But overall, I think it went more than alright.

Quads

Barbell Squats
12 x 70
10 x 80
8 x 100
6 x 110
-Pump set-
12 x 95 - Barbell Squats
13 x 110 - Leg Extensions

Hamstrings

Barbell Deadlifts
12 x 70
10 x 80
8 x 90
6 x 100
-Pump set-
12 x 90 - Dumbbell Deadlifts
13 x 110 - Lying Leg Curls

Calves

Standing Calf Raise
20 x 70
15 x 75
12 x 80
10 x 85
-Pump set-
20 x 80 - Standing Calf Raise
20 x 80 - Standing Dumbbell Calf Raise

Abs

Ab Crunches
50 x 4
-Pump set-
50 x 1 - Ab Crunches
50 x 1 - Leg Raises

Forearms

None ... will do wrist curls tomorrow


NOTES/COMMENTS:

I didn't feel like I went full throttle on this very session. But I figure that's alright, specially since I spent a week out and had to workout with as little as I had available. Other than that, I think it was a great re-start, and I hope I?ll do even better on my next leg day (Friday).


NUTRITION LOG:

Isn't it awesome to be surrounded by the conditions that allow you to eat CLEAN? Oh what a blessing...

Meal 1: 5:00 a.m. (pre workout)
1 1/2 scoops of whey
5 oz. of skim milk
1/3 banana

Meal 1: 7:00 a.m. (post workout)
2 scoops of whey
6 oz. of water

Meal 3: 9: 30 a.m. (post workout)
Omelet (3 egg whites/1 egg yolk)
2 slices of whole wheat bread

Meal 4: 12:45 p.m.
Fish (1 portion)
Black beans
Green salad

Meal 5: 4:15 p.m.
1/2 Myoplex Bar
1 tiny apple

Meal 6: 6:45 p.m.
1/2 Myoplex Bar

Meal 7: 9:00 p.m.
Chicken (1 portion)
Green salad
1/4 cup of cottage cheese

SUPPLEMENT LOG:

Pre workout:
BCAA's (2 caps)
L-Glutamine (2 cap, 2000 mg)
Post workout:
BCAA's (2 caps)
L-Glutamine (1 cap, 1000 mg)
Fatburners: none.
Multi: None
EFAs: none.
Prebed:BCAA's (2 caps)
L-Glutamine (2 cap, 2000 mg)


FINAL THOUGHT:

YES!!! I'm current with my logs. Thanks for bearing with me on this stuff. Here's a quote to inspire us all...

Goals are dreams with deadlines.

~Diana Scharf Hunt

See you tomorrow,

-audioescape.

[audioescape]

No way, man! I woke up super late today. I barely made it to work, needless to say I didn't have the time to do my cardio session. And that BLOWS! I have a rehearsal this evening, so I'll get back home (hopefully) at 9.30 p.m. ... maybe 10.00 p.m.

Two options:

1. skip today's workout and transfer it to Sunday.

2. workout at 10.00 pm+ today...

I?m not a big fan of late-late night workouts... So I guess I'll do the first.

I'll keep you updated. Thanks for visiting!

[audioescape]

Well, I finally emptied my bottle of Ripped Fuel 5x. I picked up a SAN's Tight! 60 cap bottle in the clearence aisle of GNC, and I'll be trying it soon. I'll wait a week or so to start it, since I just finished this bottle.

One think that I don't like is that the bottle says you souldn't drink coffee while taking Tight. I'm a huge coffee drinker, so... that's gonna be tough.

By the way... I forgot to post my meals for today. I'll update them in a bit.

Danke.

[audioescape]

Ok, so here's the meals for the day. I haven't decided if I'll do my cardio session tonite, or if I should move it to Sunday... we'll see...


NUTRITION LOG:

I've been feeling hungry today, like it's still 30 mins to my next meal and I could have it right now.

Meal 1: 7:00 a.m.
1 scoop of whey
1/4 cup of oats
5 oz. of skim milk
1 tiny apple (sliced)

Meal 2: 9: 30 a.m.
Omelet (3 egg whites/1 egg yolk)
2 slices of whole wheat bread
little piece of protein bar

Meal 3: 12:45 p.m.
Chicken salad
Greens
Beans

Meal 4: 4:30 p.m.
1/2 Protein bar
1 tiny apple

Meal 5: 7:00 p.m.
3/4 Detour Bar

Meal 6: 10:00 p.m.
Probably same as breakfast...

ABOUT PROGRESS PICS...

I haven't being able to take/post progress pics since I was out of town. I plan to take pics for week 6 tomorrow and post them on Thrusday. I hope I can keep on posting every week from next week forth. I think there is some small but decent progress so far.

Thanks again for stopping by.

-audioescape.