M3:D21 Failure



What's on my mind today?



Today was my first real bulking workout using
No Nonsense Muscle Building by Vince DelMonte.  All I can say in the commentary section is that 3 sets of 15 reps supersetted and only 30 seconds of rest between each set is a completely insane and killer workout.  Add to that the Quad Blaster at the end and you have an awesome workout for sure.

I enjoyed my food today.  I ate alot of chicken and with the increase in carbs my energy levels are extremely high.  I am now really seeing the benefits of increasing my calories over the past several weeks.  It has done wonders for my overall look.

I am now on a mission to teach others the wisdomm of eating more.  As you know, I've been reading Muscle Revolution by Chad Waterbury.  He puts it so well:

"It might seem paradoxical, but fat loss is best achieved by consuming the largest amount of calories possible in order to keep your metabolism high and your workouts productive.

Many people simply don't eat enough calories when they're trying to lose fat.  I'll sometimes discover, when calculating the recommended daily calories for a client who's overly fat, that he's already eating fewer calories than he should.  When I have him start eating more, believe it or not, he'll lose fat.  His nutrition habits had stalled his metabolism, and the first step to getting it moving again was giving him enough calories to rev it up and allow him to have productive workouts." (Muscle Revolution, p. 126)

The point is clear.  You need to eat.  Too many people miss this point.  When you are told that "maintenance calories" for you is 2000, that means that you need 2000 calories just to maintain your existing weight.  When you are told to cut the calories, the majority of people immediately think of cutting back on the food intake.  That is not the only way to create a caloric deficit.  What's wrong with creating a caloric deficit with exercise?  I personally believe that too many people cut their calories by restricting their food intake and then add in a ton of cardio and weight training and that puts their body dangerously close to the starvation mode we all know about.

So I read on Adam Waters' (Adam:  RTP Blog 2) where he says that all the covering up that is going on is not necessarily a good thing.  Adam recommends a 30 day coverup becuase he says that the coverup itself becomes a crutch.  While I can see the wisdom of this advice, I can also say that if a person is sticking to their nutrition and workout plans, I see nothing wrong with staying covered up for extended periods of time.  I personally do not plan to uncover completely until the end of Phase 2 (August 1, 2008).  I will probably show off different part sof my body as I go along, but I won't be completely uncovering until Phase 2 is over.



Week Begins 6/1/2008
  Sun Mon Tues Weds Thurs Fri Sat
Cycle spot HC LC LC LC HC LC LC
M1 * 5:30 a.m. 3:30 a.m. 3:30 a.m. 3:30 a.m. 3:30 a.m. 3:30 a.m. 5:30 a.m.
M2 * 8:30 a.m. 6:30 a.m. 6:30 a.m. 6:30 a.m. 6:30 a.m. 6:30 a.m. 8:30 a.m.
M3 * 11:30 a.m. 9:30 a.m. 9:30 a.m. 9:30 a.m. 9:30 a.m. 9:30 a.m. 11:30 a.m.
M4 * 2:30 p.m. 12:30 p.m. 12:30 p.m. 12:30 p.m. 12:30 p.m. 12:30 p.m. 2:30 p.m.
M5 * 5:30 p.m. 3:30 p.m. 3:30 p.m. 3:30 p.m. 3:30 p.m. 3:30 p.m. 5:30 p.m.
M6 * 7:30 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m.
Weights * N/A Lift N/A Lift N/A Lift N/A
Cardio * N/A N/A AM N/A AM N/A AM
Abs * N/A FYA FYA N/A FYA N/A FYA
Water * 264 oz 264 oz.          
Post-workout nutrition * Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Pre-sleep nutrition * Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Vitamins/Supplements * Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Accountability * Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Cals within 5% (+/-) * Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Target Cals 2800 2800 2800 2800 2800 2800 2800
Cals 2910 2869          
Ratios (C/P/F) 40/30/20 40/30/30          
Target Ratios (C/P/F) 40/30/30 40/30/30 40/30/30 40/30/30 40/30/30 40/30/30 40/30/30
Total Completed 14 15          
Total Possible 15 15          
Mission 3 Total Complete 224 239          
Mission 3 Total Possible 225 240          
* = Counts towards total
Success!
Failed
Not Counted!
 
Find out what I'm doing to my body!


Today was the first day of my mass builiding program.  I concentrated on strict form and sticking to the rest periods.  This phase of the workout series is a 3 x 15 with all supersets.  You get 30 seconds of rest in between exercises.  When you squat 225 pounds 15 times, rest 30 seconds and then do Romanian Deadlifts for 135 pounds 15 times and repeat that for 3 sets, you feel like you've run for miles.  My heart rate was way up.  I was breathing heavy.

Throughout the workout I focused on the form and lifting speed.  I aimed to be perfect on every single rep.  It made for some really tough sets at much lighter weights than I'm used to pushing.  I haven't done 15 rep sets in a long time, so this was an interesting change for my body.

I ended the workout with my new Quad Blaster.  This is where the title of today's post comes in.  I managed to use a 15 pound dumbbell and I did 12 reps on the first set.  I got the most incredible burn in my quads.  My second set I managed 10 reps and continued to feel an even more intense burn in my quads.  My third and final set I managed 8 reps, but this brought me to complete and total failure.  I completely collapsed at the end of those 8 reps.  I could not have done a 9th rep if my life depended on it.  Never before have I trained my quads to failure at like this.  It was simply amazing.
 
Exercise the brain with the Thought of the Day!


Building mass or burning fat, eating enough food is a key factor to your success.  Yes, I said eating enough food, even for burning fat.
 
Get a discussion started by answering the question!


How often have you eaten enough calories to be at your maintenance level in the past 6 months?  Comment this post to answer the question.
 
 
 

Mission 1, Day 21: Focus, Excitement and other things

Until tomorrow...GET BACK TO LIFTING!

 
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Comments

  • 6/3/2008 1:09 PM Debbie wrote:
    Hmmm..how often do I eat at maintenace. Not often enough because once the floodgates are open, it's hard to close them. Which to me is a big clue that my calories are too low for too long.

    btw: I'm jealous of your quad blaster! I love when I train my legs to failure.
    Reply to this
  • 6/4/2008 10:25 AM christy wrote:
    I don't count calories, but I definitely eat more than enough food. I agree with what you say about covering up and have my own reasons for doing the same. My mission really has a focus on increased functioning of my body over weight loss or fat loss or anything, but I did take measurements (including body fat measurements thanks to the caliper link you sent me ) so that I can monitor what effect what I'm doing has on my body for possible future missions. But I'm such an emotional person that just looking at photos of me in my bikini every day really switches the focus to what I look like over really enjoying getting moving and making progress toward a better functioning body. I think you can understand how hard it is to come back after a serious injury, but thanks to your encouragement and good advice from way back, I'm gonna take it slow. (which is hard to do sometimes), keep GOOD FORM so I don't re-injure and just keep trying. Thanks for all the great advice and encouragement.

    I see you're helping out Lynda, too. Hmm. Maybe you ought to get your PT certificate, too!
    Reply to this
  • 6/4/2008 9:35 PM dougal wrote:
    dude, check out my blog...it'll blow your mind
    Reply to this
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