"191111"

[191111]

So, I finally got my ****e together and started a blog. Good for me.
Not really a blogger-type-of-a-person but we'll see, maybe I'll start liking it. Which means that the frequency of posts will, at least in the beginning, be quite unpredictable.

Started going to the gym about a year ago, pretty much randomly took it up. Most of my life I've been jogging quite a lot and if there is a sport I'm goot at, it's that. Also REALLY grew to like cycling few years ago, every year the disease has gotten worse and this year (the "season" started on April 2, when the snow had much or less melted... well, not really) I've managed to get about 3000 miles done on my old crappy mountain bike.

Currently I lift weights four times a week, do separate cardio on two days and have one day off, but this might change, of course. Lifting weights is something that's quite unnatural for me, if you will, because never in my life had I regularly been doing physically demanding stuff (and by that I mean picking **** up and putting it down again; running, walking and bicycling that I'm veeeery used to, do not count) before. So I have to say, I still haven't quite gotten used to it, but let's see. Maybe something will change.

The weights are small, as is the muscle mass. Hope to improve in some way, but how, is yet unknown. Till then I'll just keep doing my own little thing and being small. Kinda. And hopefully get into F-in' shape finally after the summer!!!

Maybe some more personal info will follow, I'll try to make a habit of blogging. Maybe some old pictures, maybe some new... Anyway, till then:
LET'S GET IT UP!

[191111]

So, today was cardio.

Which was a good thing, because I really felt like crap during my lectures (tired I guess) and I can't imagine going to the gym to lift weights feeling like that. Thankfully, I drank my pre-training supplement before the cardio, which really gave me the boost i needed and of course, music always helps. Had a really nice / easy 700 kcal 1-hour ride on the bike-looking-thingy. Not sure how it's called. Sweated off buckets so after the workout I had to squeeze the sweat out of my shirt - my guess would be a decent 0,5 l of it. Nice.

Then stopped by the grocery store to pick up some good ol' bro food (I'll be trying a different approach starting from Monday - you can guess what it'll be): eggs, meat, curd, whole grain rye bread, cottage cheese, frozen vegetables (the fresh ones are more expensive than Picasso's paintings), some cooked beets and persimmons - damn those things are sweet!

Tomorrow eill be abs, shoulders, traps and triceps. The sucky thing is I haven't found a really good set of exercises for shoulders - I never seem to be able to work hem enough for them to be sour the next day. Also, my shoulders are, even by my standards, small, so... Any suggestions?

Oh, and some guessing for you (the few people who drop by here): here is a picture of me in February - what's my body fat % on that picture. I happen to know the exact answer because onthat day I had my body composition measured. A hint: I weigh 66 kg on that picture. About 13 kg less than at the moment.

[191111]

Not much has happened. I've completed my weight-lifting for this week and only have cardio left to do, but I'm planning on trying something new tomorrow, so I'll let you know how it goes. And possibly add pictures as well.

The fridge is completely empty so I have to go shopping on Sunday - and it will be QUITE SOME shopping. IDK how I'm going to get all the stuff I buy from the store to my place, but I'll figure something out.

Windy, damp and warm outside, that sucks. I was hoping we'd see snow by now, but what do you do...

Oh yeah, almost forgot - the biggest thing that has happened was that i went tanning. Yup. A tanning salon offered free first tan for men (sexual discrimination?) and so I decided to give it a try. On Thursday, between two lectures, I quickly dropped by. Well, it was interesting. They have a radio system that turns on wile you're tanning and guess what the radio station decided to play? LMFAO - Sexy and I know it. Within seconds, i felt like Pauly D from Jersey Shore and briefly thought about fist-pumping. Buuuut, I skipped that and decided to rather go to the gym next morning... My skin is a bit sore and pink today, so it seems I got my fair share of the Guido sun and that tanning session actually felt pretty energizing. But I hope I won't start feeling the need to use exessice chapstick, go to clubs and cause crazy drama everywhere I go.

On that note, it's time to end. See ya tomorrow!

[191111]

Done. F'in done.

There was a thread in the forum, where the user ShaneJW had an idea of burining 2,240 cals in the gym so he could eat a whole jar of PB. The idea of burning all those calories within a single workout kinda got suck in my head and that's why I decided a few days ago that I was gonna do it. Plus, I've been sitting on the cardiobike so much lately that I thought doing this marathon would deplete my hunger for all that pedalling.

So, this morning I had my breakfast (which I usually don't like to have if I'm doing cardio in the morning, but which was essential today) - a bowl of proats (66g oats, 50g protein), a small cup of coffe and off to the gym I was. The strange thing was that I was feeling somewhat letargic, sleepy and weak, although I had slept way more than on the previous nights.

I began my workout at 0910AM (see added pictures) with a 30-minute ride using the interval setting. The result was 402 cals and a whole lotta sweat. Oh, and I HAVE to say this: I would've never pulled it through if it wasn't for my MP3 player, this little thing helped A LOT. The first 30 mins I listened to some AC/DC's live recordings. Good stuff.

The second part was the same - 30 mins of intervals, which kicked 421 kcals out of me. Only difference was that I now decided to listen to some of AC/DC's studio recordings. What a variety, isn't it!? "Guns for hire" especially got me going and made me forget all about the physical effort.

The third part was 44 mins of the so-called "rolling hills" setting. The two first sets had been full-on, but on this one and the next I slowed down and tried to keep my heart rate under 140. And what did I listen to? You'll be surprised. Coldplay's Mylo Xyloto this time. Perfect LISS music, if you ask me. So, with this set I managed to burn 488 kcals.

After that I changed my shirt, which had been soaking wet already for a while and filled up my shaker with a "dose" of my pre-workout supplement MAN!A. I had it only now because I knew the end of the workout would be a lot harder than the beginning, so there wouldn't have been any point of having it before the first set. For the fourth set, I didn't change anything else - 44 mins again, LISS again, rolling hills again, Mylo Xyloto again. But managed to burn 515 kcals. Keeping the heart rate under 140 was becoming harder and harder.

And for my last set, I chose the "random" setting and tried to listen to some Rollins Band - TRIED because in the "Great Hall" right next to me, a BodyPump training had begun and they blasted really crappy music at ridiculous volume. "You take me hiiiiiigher, hiiiiiiiiiigher, hiiiiiiger off the ground..." Fuk dat. Anyway, Rollins Band helped a lot, because the last 20 mins or so were really difficult and I think the music was what kept me alive. "What have I got" especially. Within about 33 mins, I had achieved my goal of 2,240 kcals and was able to hop off the bike to find that my body wasn't all that co-operative. I wonder why? 414 kcals on the last ride.

After that, I went to the sauna and swam a bit in the pool, then hit the showers. The ride back home (oh the joy, on my bike!) was really slow but I was able to get home without riding into a ditch or smth. And then it REALLY was time to eat.

As for my rewards - do they sell the PB the OP was talking about where I live? NO! So there will be no reward for me exept the calories burned and the knowing that I can do it. Hadn't done anything really demanding for a while, so this was a great chance to push myself out of my comfort zone. I suggest you try this our for yourself. Feelsgoodman.jpg? Kind of.

[191111]

... and the rest of the pictures.
BTW, I finished my marathon-workout at 1240PM.

[191111]

A rainy and dark 1st Advent today.

Woke up before the alarm clock (a reare occurance for me), got my stuff together and walked to the grocery store. It took me forever to pick up everything I wanted, but I walked around in the store with a smile on my face, knowing I could buy any eats I wanted - I'll be trying IIFYM and new marco settings starting from tomorrow. We'll se how that goes. Got me some good stuff - chocolate, cookies, cereals, bagles, a pizza, ice-cream... well, I got other stuff too, but there's no point in writing out all the usual bro-stuff. I barely managed to get all the stuff home, it must've been about 50-60 pounds worth of groceries, I'm srs. Paid well for it too, about 75 $.

After I had unpacked, I headed off to the gym. Although it's supposed to be my day off today, I don't have much to do and I decided to still go. You can guess if I did 45 mins on the same cardio-machine I spent 3 hrs on yesterday again. Gave Mylo Xyloto another spin and burned 525 kcals. Sweated buckets, although tried to keep my heart rate under 140. Then spent some time in the sauna and swam a few straights in the pool. Feltgoodman.jpeg.

Now I'll just read some stuff for school, make a fire in the fireplace later on to heat up the room and have my two last meals of the day. Damn, it's like 0300PM and it's getting dark outside. Must get the christmas lights up today.

Tomorrow will be the first day of my new training routine I put together. Will be focusing on bench press, squats and deadlifts, hopefully will gain some strenght in the long perspective. Also, I think I won't be doing any cardio tomorow (although I must say, I'd like to), because it's really getting on my knees and I'm squatting on Tuesday.

Only 4 weeks until christmas.

[191111]

After I got the christmas lights up yesterday, I've suddenly started feeling all christmas-y. Which is a good thing, I personally like christmas, the general feeling of that time of the year.

Today's workout was a good one. Abs, chest and biceps. I cut down on the number of exercises and reduced reps significantly, which felt really good. Was able to add 11 lbs to my bench press max - although at the small-ass weights I'm lifting, I should increase my max by 110 lbs to "be in business". I mean, not being able to lift my own bodyweight IS pretty weak. But I'm working on it. Legs tomorrow, probably only 4-5 different exercises. My squats have been especially weak lately so I'll try to do something about that.

Started with my IIFYM today, as well. Increased fat, increased overall calories so I'll guess I have to wait for a while before I can say anything about it. But decideng for myself when I eat is pretty neat. And the cereals I had this morning were good as hell.

[191111]

So, about today's workout.

The main problem was that my lower back was seriously giving me $hit. When squatting, I felt close to no pressure in my thies and some serious tension in my lower back. I nevertheless did my squats and even managed to squeeze a new PR out of myself, but I probably won't be squatting like that for a month or so. Or if I will, I'll use REALLY light weights and do long sets to get the movement right. I mean, today, when I was squatting, I swear, on each and every squat I just FELT my lower back bending in stead of being straight. God DAMN!

Then I switched to the Smith and found it to be much better for my back, which is why I'll be doing my squats (for the next few weeks) on the Smith.

Next I turned to the leg press as I knew it would be harmless to my back which was already pretty sour by then (and more so at the moment). IDK how, but I managed to reach a PR on that one too, doing a 20 rep set with 500 lbs.

To finish it off, did leg extensions for both quadriceps (PR of 5x175) and hamstrings (PR of 2X8X160).

Oh, and the very last thing I did was 22 mins on the bike. I just couldn't resist the temptation. Feltgoodman.gif.

IIFYM is currently going well, will add couple of pictures. I'll be keeping the macros all the same 'til the end of the week and then probably alter them a bit, add carbs and see how it goes, because I relly feel like I function better on more carbs and less fat. Once I've gone under 75 kg, I'll up my calories to my daily expenditure. But that'll take time.

[191111]

Haven't written here in a while...

Last weekend, my mother came to visit me for a day and two days ago, my father dropped by. Was nice to see them both, had some fun.

Have been eating whatever I want and when I want and I must say, I really like it. Less stress about what to eat and buy and when to eat it. And it's cheaper, too! The usual bro-stuff is expensive as hell... Haven't gotten all crazy though, some of my meals are pretty much complete broscience, but I like those things. Salads, curd, lean meats, whole grain bread etc.

Workouts have been positive. Benched 176 (new PR), 595x10 on the leg press (also a new PR and actually 44 lbs more than my last PR), 200x5 on leg extensions. My legs really hurt the next day, which was of course a good thing, I like it. The bad news is my knees aren't liking the workouts, so I have to do something about that...

Today, lots of PRs, most notably a deadlift of 287 lbs. I know, being weak sucks, but hey, it's actually 44 lbs more than 2 weeks ago!

Lots of cardio too, I'm really enjoying doing it. 44 minutes and 600 kcal burned this morning while enjoying some good music. Then 10 minutes or so in the sauna, a quarter of an hour in the pool and a slow (strong wind) ride home. Still no snow, which sucks. But the weather forecast said there will be a nice snowstorm this evening, looking forward to that.

[ArchangelEST]

Yeah. I think that the freedom one gets from not being tied down to "fixed" meal frequencies, timings and food choices gives so much positive energy that - it alone can push you towards new heights in the gym and out of it.

When I was "bro-ing", lol - I used to experience serious spikes of depression and whatnot when I missed a meal or something like that. I kept thinking how my gains were suffering and that was emotional baggage that did nothing to help me, it just dragged me down both physically and mentally.

Now I feel great. I missed a meal... who fuking cares, I'll eat it later. Booya!

Win!

[191111]

Benched my new PR today, 187 lbs. I can't quite get what's going on because in mid-September, my PR was 154 lbs and I had acheived that by pushing the fuark out of myself. And now, within like 2 weeks, I have added 33 lbs to my old PR. No complaining there, of course, I'm glad what's happening is happening.

Also, had fun watching a guy called Ahto Poljakov doing his leg routine. He did his squats with at least 441 lbs (I couldn't make out the weight of the plates) and later on continued with 176 lbs... not simply squatting, but first squatting down and then JUMPING up. I was like "Fcuk, I should just go home and start listening to Justin Beiber". What I was also amazed by was the intensity/no. of reps. I mean, sqatting 441 lbs is good enough, but this guy did several reps in a set, many sets and a whole buch of reps and sets with other weights. Nice.

In other news, 12 days until Christmas and less than 3 weeks until the end of this year. Can't belive it... My exams will start on the 4th of January, so I gotta start studying more. Shocker, ain't it?

[191111]

Yeah. I think that the freedom one gets from not being tied down to "fixed" meal frequencies, timings and food choices gives so much positive energy that - it alone can push you towards new heights in the gym and out of it.

When I was "bro-ing", lol - I used to experience serious spikes of depression and whatnot when I missed a meal or something like that. I kept thinking how my gains were suffering and that was emotional baggage that did nothing to help me, it just dragged me down both physically and mentally.

Now I feel great. I missed a meal... who fuking cares, I'll eat it later. Booya!

Win!

Well, I'll be damned. Somebody replied to this thread! I was already thinking on changing my avatar to "The Forever Alone Guy" to have a little laugh on my own expense... guess there goes that plan...

I have to say, my mood is definitely better on IIFYM, shopping is also easier. When I do other stuff, i do other stuff and when I finally eat, then I eat. Contrary to the situation when you're constantly eating just a liiiiiiiiitle bit and constantly doing other stuff. I really hated the frequent meals because I ALWAYS felt hungry, I never got to eat enough to feel full.

[ArchangelEST]

Well, I'll be damned. Somebody replied to this thread! I was already thinking on changing my avatar to "The Forever Alone Guy" to have a little laugh on my own expense... guess there goes that plan...

I have to say, my mood is definitely better on IIFYM, shopping is also easier. When I do other stuff, i do other stuff and when I finally eat, then I eat. Contrary to the situation when you're constantly eating just a liiiiiiiiitle bit and constantly doing other stuff. I really hated the frequent meals because I ALWAYS felt hungry, I never got to eat enough to feel full.

Now you are getting it.

That's is one of the main reasons to try IIFYM or IF. The freedom to adjust your food intake in a manner that best suits you personally. Why eat small meals all day when you hate the feeling of never being full. Fuk that. I eat 2000kcal in a sitting, just so I can lump in my chair and say - Oh yeah, baby. That's the stuff.

Just keep it real. Don't grow too lax and keep an eye on your macro's and calories. While comfy, it's easy to over or under-eat.

Congrats on the PR-s. You're getting closer to mine. About 200lb to go. - Keep pushing hard!

[191111]

Quick update.

Leg workout yesterday, 595x15 on leg press, 231 lbs squat on the Smith - which is more than I've squatted in the last half of the year.

I loaded the leg press up with 551 lbs, counted the pounds and was like "OK, 595, I can do it". So, I did 15 of 'em and was all happy with myself until I counted again just to be sure and was like "FML". Then got a grip of myself and managed to do ACTUAL 595x15, but it was hard because I was already tired of all the squatting.

After the leg press I was over & out, so no new PRs on the last three exercises. Just did them with weights close to PRs and wobbled out of the gym.

This morning was cardio, 1,5hrs on the bike and 1285 cals. I swetted like a... don't know what, but A LOT. Never in my life have I seen anything like this. My sneakers are still soaking wet, don't know if they will dry off by tomorrow morning.

Tomorrow will also be the last day of this semester which means the real studying will only start now. Good for me. Real HOLIDAYS start on 19 January so more than a month to go. And still no damn snow.

[191111]

Yes! The last day of this semester! Glad this is over with. And the weather was really nasty today, too. Rain non-stop, strong wing, chilly, dark... Not too Christmas-y. But if I'm not mistaken, my next lecture will take place only on February 6th. As said, the real studying is now only starting - I have to write an essay by Monday and also take my first exam on that day. Plus four exams and an essay in January...

Today's workout was traps-abs-shoulders-triceps-calves. The problem I have with my Thurday's workout is that I never manage to work my shoulders hard enough for them to be sore the next day, I think I haven't found the right exercises. If anyone reading this has any ideas and is brave enough and cares enough to open his/hers mouth and help me a bit, I would be very thankful... Any suggestions?

Tomorrow back workout plus a lot else to do... I'll up my macros to 200-400-70 for a couple of days now just to see what happens.

[191111]

Today I literally deadlifted the sh!t out of myself to accomplish a new PR. Over and out.

[191111]

I just accidentally deleted a long-ass post. FML

I think this will be it for today.