Building Muscles

Nutrition - Day 57

I have been rather cautious today about what I have had to eat. I want to cut down a little on the carbs but not to where I do not have any energy - or that my body starts to make use of muscle to fuel itself.

You have to be very careful with this. Often people decide to starve themselves in order to reduce weight. This is not the answer. Your body will immediately shut down to try to save what it has because you are not feeding it. You are far better off eating on a regular basis. You should just eat small quantities so you can easily use up what you have put in and some of the excess you have.

I have had 3 x protein drinks but with no fruit in them.
2 x chicken and salad.
1 x tuna and a banana.

Around 1 3/4 lts of water and a few coffees.

I think I have done rather well today.

Training Arms & Chest Schedule - Day 57

Day	Goal			Actual
Chest	Reps	Kg's		Reps	Kg's
D/B Incline Fly’s	20	12.5		20	12.5
	12	15		12	15
	10	17.5		10	17.5
	12	15		12	17.5
D/B Bench Press	15	20		12	20
Triceps	Reps	Kg's		Reps	Kg's
Overhead Ext.	20	20		20	20
	12	25		12	25
	10	30		10	30
	12	25		12	25
Push downs	15	25		15	25
Biceps	Reps	Kg's		Reps	Kg's
Z/B Curls	21	25		21	25
	12	30		12	35
	10	35		10	40
	12	30		12	30
D/B Preacher Curls	15	10		15	10

Progress Update

Today was the weigh-in day. I've updated the progress page with the stats and new photos.

I feel very good about it. This is not about how much I have reduced but much more about how I feel. Of course I am delighted that I have come down a 1/2" around the  waist. I have gone up 1/4" around the chest. These types of results are very positive. I know that I have, in the past, experienced a point when the body seems to want to keep all that it has, and does not want to accept much change. You have to keep on keeping on and then one day it just happens.

I know from the reflection in the mirror that I am changing shape slowly. This is quite awesome and I am happy it is slow. It took me a long time to get into the condition I was in 56 days ago so the actual change has been quite remarkable.

In another 56 days there will be another big change - provided I do not lose heart and just keep on going.

General Thoughts - Day 55

Today I have done a lot of the change around of furniture etc. in the house and we have got it looking quite nice. You would think a little change around would be easy - but when you think I moved Lorraine's whole office - that is a lot of stuff. I had to make space for her in my office. I used to be quite spread out. It took a lot of work and time going through all my stuff and binning what I have not used for some time.

Then we replaced some furniture and had to fit it in the exact way she wanted. I have been doing all of this during really good rugby and cricket.

I must admit it has been a bit of a strain for the last little while making this change. It is only now that it is almost all over that I realised that there were things I wanted to do which I just did not get round to doing.

The main thing though, through all of this I have managed to train. I could have said I will put the training on hold until the time is right. I hear so many people say this in all areas of their lives. "I would like to do this and I know I should, but the time is just not quite right". Well, I've got news for you - the time will never be right. All you have is right now and you have to make the very most of that.

Training Legs - Day 55

I really was making excuses to myself about training today. It was not that I did not want to train, it was just I was full of baloney.

When I finally went in to train, it was quick, easy and sharp. No messing around and not too much concentration on it. I think sometimes this type of training is not the best. I still think your mindset must be right. It was just I had so many other things on my mind - and although I know to train is important - I made it secondary. I should have just scheduled a time to train and done it with total focus and concentration.

All the weights were to the plan and the bike was just the 12 minutes. On programme 9. Not very exciting.

Nutrition - Day 55

I have not done as well as I would have liked but only toward the end of the day. I had 1 x tuna and salad. 3 x dried fruit and nuts. 2 x chicken and potato.

Then it happened. I wanted to cheat and so bought some Genoa Fruit cake and had to just eat half of it. It is very seldom that I have cheated on my training days. I know I have often not eaten enough, but this was an out-and-out cheat and I have no excuses.

Water poor and loads of coke and loads of coffee. I felt a little spaced out by the end of the evening.

Training Legs Schedule - Day 55

Day	Goal			Actual
Legs Quads	Reps	Kg's		Reps	Kg's
Single Leg Ext	20	25		20	25
	12	35		12	35
	10	45		10	45
	12	35		12	35
Single Leg Squat	15	12.5		15	12.5
Hamstrings	Reps	Kg's		Reps	Kg's
Lying Leg Curl	20	12.5		20	12.5
	12	15		12	15
	10	20		10	20
	12	17.5		12	17.5
D/B Lunges	15	12.5		15	12.5
Calves	Reps	Kg's		Reps	Kg's
Single Leg Calf Raise	30	30		30	30
	20	45		20	45
	15	50		15	50
	15	50		15	50

General Thoughts - Day 54

I had a talk with my son who did a bodybuilding competition around 2 years ago. He trained long and hard for the comp. and looked fantastic. He gave me his diet and training that he did.

Everything he said made sense. Things like drinking iced water so your body has to work at warming the water up. This burns fat. He told me many other things. His training was not a lot different from what I do except a lot longer.

I have given this a lot of thought and came to the same  conclusion that I came to when when I was swimming competitively. I was not going to break a world record - so why would I shave all the hair off my body. I treated swimming as a sport that I enjoyed and not as a do or die situation.

I think I am going to do the same with this training. I do not want to go into competition. I just want to look good. Firstly for me, not for anyone else. I want a 32" waist and then I will consider If I want to go down more. I really don't think so though.

Who knows ? If I get bitten I just might want to compete - and then it will be a whole new ball game. Right now though, it is about a very limited amount of time I will spend getting myself to look pretty good. I want to enjoy what I am doing and it must not become something I have to force myself to do. I am doing it because I have very good reasons. Mainly health.

I am 56 - almost 57 - and it is around this time people have heart problems. They are way overweight because they believe they are getting close to retirement and it is time to slow down. It was the route I was going on. It does not have to be this way. You are as young as you choose to be in your mind. Your body responds to whatever training you do and gets better and better.

Just think - it is one of those weird things that the more you do the more energy you get. What wonderful bodies we have. I realise it is the only one I have and if I do not take good care of it I may as well give up.

Training Back & Shoulders - Day 54

This was a good training day for me. I put in a lot of visualisation - each muscle growing and fat falling off.

I was once told by a Mr South Africa back in about 1983/4, that the weight resistance training is only a small part of the training. Eating is a much bigger part and then the biggest is visualisation. Arnie is living proof of that.

I kept the weights as per the goal weights and did really well.

I went back to lat pull downs for the back - just for a change. It is quite a shock when you change, so I guess that is good for the muscles. I know I have been told you must shock the muscles every now and again or they tend to want to stand still and not grow.

The same for leg raises as that was the main type of training instead of the wheel.

A great training and I did 17 minutes on the bike.

Nutrition - Day 54

Very simple 3 x protein drinks.

1 x Tuna and salad
2 x beef stew with loads of veges in it.

1.5 lts water. A few coffee's.

I am really determined to reduce my waist size this week. I will not want to just have protein drinks next week, or that will become very boring. Again, I am doing this as I found a very small change last week. A shock is sometimes good and gets thing moving again.

It is getting to the stage where, because of the muscles that are building and the energy they need, this will help reduce the fat content much more easily.