The Chairman's Fitness Challenge Blog

So says a report in the New York Times as reported by Alex Hutchison at sweatscience.com.  The theory says that the brain needs downtime to function properly, and overloading it with TV's, loud music, and text messaging at the gym really suboptimizes the potential benefits of a focused workout when it comes to brainpower.

I am not sure if the people listening to iPods at the gym are any more or less intelligent than those luddites without them.  (I've seen some pretty stupid behaviour by the iPod group, but the cause-effect relationship is unclear!)  However, I can say that I tossed the iPod for working out long ago, and only use it occasionally for treadmill runs (which I find incredibly boring otherwise.)  During weight training and interval-type cardio, I find the distraction of messing around with my music is a serious distraction that extends my rest times, encourages bad form , and just generally gets in the way.

On the other hand, loud music during cardio (like spin classes) does seem to raise my performance to a higher level.  The beat and the volume are great at encouraging me to keep a steady pace and give maximum effort - the strange part is, at the end of the class, I can't even remember what the tunes were.  I'm apparently not even giving any conscious thought to the music, I'm just reacting to it at a subconscious level and it seems to work.

So, I agree with the article on a strictly empirical basis.  Background music = good; actively working the touchwheel on an iPod during workouts = bad, and texting on their BlackBerry during spin class = you should really think about going next door to Starbucks instead. 





 

The 52-day challenge is rapidly closing in on the half-way point, and I am having a relatively good challenge.  I thought it miht be time to summarize where things stand and what changes I need to make to achieve all my goals.

The Good:
My circuit training sessions are keeping me right on track when it comes to hitting my resistance training goals.  I am doing 1-hour circuits every Monday and Wednesday, consisting of five rounds of rapid-fire (1-minute sets) of seven different exercises, plus a minute of hard cardio and a minute of rest.  A session lasts about an hour, and I usually hit total exhaustion by the end.  Since starting, I've upped my weight on most of the exercises, and have been using two 40-lb kettlebells for split squats and a 60-lb dumbbell for a swiss ball pullover move.  I'm thinking that most of my body parts are getting hit well; the one area that could use a bit more is the back.

I am supplementing the circuit training with a full-body workout on Friday or Saturday, typically including two sets of front squats, bench press, shoulder press, leg curls, pull-down or seated row, dips, pull-ups, and some sort of abs exercise alternated with back extensions.

My cardio is clustered around the weekend -spin or cycling on Saturday or Sunday, plus a run on Friday or Monday.  If I'm lucky, some other sort of cross-training cardio thing will happen during the week as well.  

All in all, if I keep up this schedule I'll hit or surpass my workout goals by the end of the challenge.

The Bad
My food intake has not been ideal, with too many cheat meals and stops at the pub.  I have learned that I am an impulsive eater/drinker, and among the things that trigger the impulse are stressful gatherings.  Having started a new job, and had far too many big family-type gatherings lately, I have not been sticking strictly to my dietary targets.  As a result, my weight loss has stalled completely.  I have the next four weeks or so to correct that and kick-start some weight loss.

But... 
I am pretty pumped (no pun intended) about some of the physical changes I'm seeing.  My chest feels stronger, and my arms (bi's and tri's) are noticeably better-defined compared to even three weeks ago.  I've noticed my thighs are much tighter-looking too, when I'm lying flat on my back doing some sort of weird swiss-ball ab exercise mandated in the circuit training... 

Friday's are usually tough days for me to get in a workout - regular working days, my gym closes early, and I want to spend the last day of the week having a relaxed dinner with my family rather than the usual hustle and bustle during the week. 

Today was different, though.  On the way to pick up my daughter from her day camp, I arrived 45 minutes early and stopped at the affiliate gym two blocks from the camp location downtown.  I did 2.5 miles on the treadmill, doing three phases of shorter runs while varying the speed to get a more intense workout in.  I'm trying to increase my speed, and shorter bursts seems to be a recommended way to do it rather than a half-hour of steady state.

It felt like a great workout!  I set a PB for one mile at 9:49 at 1% incline (I don't track this stat too often but it's still a good thing!) and maintained a 7mph pace for quarter-mile segments, so that's progress over my usual 5.8mph slogging!  Next stop - a 30-minute 5k!  (I need to pare about 4 minutes off my current pace to accomplish that.)

I have posted on the Men's Health forums about the circuit training class I am in.  I went through this once before, around Christmas last year, and am now in the midst of another 6-week session of twice-a-week classes doing full-body training.

The format is pretty typical of these things, I think... as many reps as you can do at each station in one minute, seven stations + cardio, five times around.  The total in one hour is about thirty-five sets of various weight-training moves plus five rounds of 1-minute intense cardio on  stationary bike.

The moves include things like tri pushups, one-legged swiss ball squats, and pullovers.  The toughest one to me is the bosu ball squats - I am having a heck of a time getting any meaningful work in without falling off the stupid bosu ball.  Tonight was a bit of a breakout - I finally was able to get some reps in with about 30kg of weight as a front squat.  It doesn't sound like much (my front squat on terra firma is about 65kg) but being able to do it tonight without toppling over was a great feeling!
 

Today was day 1 in another 52 Day Challenge, and I am psyched!  I did a warm-up on our beautiful holiday Monday with a great cardio class ("Bodyattack", one of the Les Mills classes offed at my gym).  I rounded that off by riding my bike to the gym and back (taking the trails on the way home) and jumping in the pool afterwards.

The official weigh-in today was 206.8lbs, a little higher than my best weight during the last challenge, but still within reason given the slacking off that has taken place over the past couple of weeks.  I'm shooting for a 10.5lb weight loss, and that will be my main focus.  I am starting a 12-session circuit training class tonight - that will be the core of my resistance training plan for the next few weeks.  I've done the class before and it is a great challenge! 

I've been focusing on cardio lately, for a myriad of different reasons.

The past few days included:

- Spin class, 50min, on Saturday 7/17
- Spin class, 50 min, on 7/18
- Run on the dreadmill on Monday 7/20.  3.1 miles, 34:40.  "Sport Training 5k" circuit, so lots of inclines.  I kept the speed around 5.6-5.8 mph, with short bursts faster.  Didn't make it all the way through without slowing down, but felt it was a good run given the length of time since my last one!  3-4 minute warm-up and cool-down, as always.

Posting blog updates has slipped down the list of priorities this challenge, but a few thoughts now that the challenge half-way-point has passed would be appropriate.  I'm feeling pretty good about my progress, even if the numbers are a little behind.  The Hard-Body plan seems to hit all the right muscles, and I am being diligent about upping the weights whenever I hit ten reps on an exercise.  As a result, I've seen some good gains in strength on things like my bench press and hack squat.  I am considering changing to an "A-B-A" routine three times a week, using the same exercises split over two days instead of three (this is an option in the book).

On the CT front, I'm definitely seeing some cardio gains as well.  I feel like my cadence is up during cycling classes, and my blood pressure and heartrate seem a little bit improved even over the past few weeks.  Today I did a 2.5 mile run on the dreadmill non-stop, hitting that distance for maybe the first time in my life.  I took the pace down about 10% from my usual, keeping it slow-and-steady at about 5.6 or 5.7 mph (0.5 degree incline) until cranking it up faster for the last half-mile or so.  My plan is to get to where I can pound out 3.1 miles (5km) or more comfortably non-stop at that speed as a baseline, then start speeding it up and doing some intervals to improve my pace.   


 

I am starting to think about the goals for the summer challenge, which starts next week.  I am probably going to add a bit to each of my core goals, maybe 24 CT's, 22 RT's and 90 CE's.  These are stretch goals, but if I focus I think they are achievable.

The main personal goal is one I am undecided on though.  The 5% weigh tloss challenge is a good goal, although I have only achieved it once (thanks to a wicked bout of the flu that kept me from eating for a few days.  Great for weight loss!)  The other one I am considering is a running foal - maybe 52 miles (1 mile per day average) over the course of the challenge.  It does not sound like much, but I intend to keep doing the cycling on weekends, so realistically I'll only be running once or twice a week.  With a good run for me topping out at about 3 miles, the 52 mile objective suddenly looks pretty challenging!  I have a little time, but one of these two goals will no doubt be my major personal goal this time around. 

I am taking advantage of the two-week downtime between challenges to spruce things up around here.  Alot of the post categories have been changed to make them more meaningful, and there have also been some minor layout adjustments.  It is now a lot easier if you want to see some of the great articles I've linked to, or if you want to only see post about my resistance training routine  -just click the label links on the left!  And if you are interested, "rambling" covers anything not strictly related to workouts and nutrition...

We are into the last few hours of the 52-day challenge, and I can report that I have achieved 5 out of my six goals.  I failed to reach my weight loss objective, but other than that I met or exceeded everything else!  This isn't the end - it is just a mile marker on this journey, and I will be joining the next 52 day challenge starting in about eighteen days!

I will update the final numbers on Saturday after doing a final weigh-in.  In the meantime, this is an opportunity to reflect on the strengths and weaknesses exposed in this challenge, and come up with a new set of objectives to make myself stronger in the next one.

My current routine calls for dumbbell swings every third week, during the back/chest/abs session.  I can honestly say that I've never seen this exercise done before, and based on a single static picture it is awfully hard to figure out what the exercise entails, or why anyone would need to do it.

It turns out this is a great exercise for abs and back, basically all through the core.  It also hits legs and arms, so there are full-body benefits.  I have not yet quite figured out the right weight for myself but this seems like a good exercise to throw into core strengthening routines.  (Like many other complex movements, it is a great idea to start with light weights until mastering the movements.)  I will probably try this one out with kettlebells as well, and there are single-arm, high and low variations to mix things up a bit.

Chalk up another good discovery as a result of changing up my routine!  If you are interested in seeing a video of this one, check out Exercise RX or google it - there is no shortage of instructional videos on the differnet variants.

The title of this post is something a certain trainer/instructor has told me often - how you finish one session sets the tone for how you start the next. If you coast at the end of one class, you will have a hard time getting off to a good start at the next one.  That thought is a good one as this 52 day challenge winds down.

Here in the home stretch of this 52 Day Challenge, I've had a chance to learn a bit about the goals I had set and how relevant they are to my fitness goals.  Obviously, the core workout and eating goals are important.  I think the objective of 21 cardio sessions this time around may have been a little light, as I am hitting between three and four workouts a week on average.  Next challenge, I may bump that up to 25 to ensure a good stretch goal.  The RT number is pretty close, as I am targeting three sessions a week (in line with the Hard Body plan I am following).

I am right on the edge with my goal of 88 clean eats.  I was really hoping for 94 this time, giving me a shot at platinum, but I find that eating clean is the toughest part of the challenge for me.   Not coincidentally, it is also the goal that seems to have the greatest effect on my weight loss.  I am ready to bump this number up a bit next time, maybe to ninety.  Slow and steady.

On the discretionary goals, I think the 5% challenge is a good stretch target.  I am going to miss this one, but it is definitely achievable and I will keep that one on the list.  The 1500 crunches has been a tough one- I bumped this up from 1000 my last challenge, and it takes a certain amount of discipline to throw in one or two sets of crunches after every workout to keep the numbers moving in the right direction.  However, I'm not sure that doing crunches forever is really the best use of my time, and is not having the effect of significantly strengthening my core.  I will probably replace this one with something more holistic - maybe pushups, planks, or some other full-body exercise.  

The posting goal was really a one-time thing - although I intend to keep up the blog, I won't be setting a minimum number of posts next time. 

New goals?  The 3600 challenge is something I find intimidating, so I might take that one on as a personal challenge.  The 40-4-40 objective is a great one - I think I would have been close on that one this time around if I was tracking it.  That's another possibility.  And there are any number of other goals - running miles, strength gains on basic exercises like bench press, etc.  I have a lot of thinking to do before picking the five or six goals that will be my focus next time around.  These final days of the challenge are a good opportunity to try stuff out and maybe identify the right goals for me next time around.

After a couple of spin classes on the weekend, and doing resistance training on the legs and gluteus maximus yesterday, I thought I'd take it easy with a run tonight.  A quick couple of miles, along the creek and back.  No problem.

Well, that was wrong!

Right from the first few steps, I could feel my ankles were tight and, well, not too happy with me for venturing out today.  I coupld barely go a couple of minutes without having to stop for breath, and the gentle hills of the path suddenly seemed like the Swiss freakin' Alps when I was running up them!

I did complete the 2 miles, it took 21 1/2 minutes, and was more than a little humbling.  I'm going to blame the heel raises yesterday (PB on those weights), the fact I hadn't eaten anything for a few hours, and too little sleep last night.  But bottom line is, I need to get out a few times a week and start really focusing on getting better at this.  With the nice weather here, outdoor running is going to become part of my routine.  (My tally of 3.25 miles this year is a little embarrassing at this point.)

In the Globe and Mail on Monday, one of my favourite bloggers (Alex Hutchinson) reported on a study conducted at Ball State University on personal trainers.  Surprise, surprise - the study found that working with a personal trainer yield better results.  I am not surprised by this, given the number of people piddle away in the gym with bad form and a random training regimen (and I should probably put myself in that category - until recently.)  But the very interesting finding of the study - it's because someone working with a personal trainer tends to use higher weights, working harder and getting better strength gains in the process.

This is something I can relate to - since refocusing on the Hard-Body Plan, I have been militant about upping the weight whenever approaching the ten-rep limit.  Going back through my journal, I see way too many "tens" without corresponding increases in weight - and every one of those is a lost opportunity for strength gains.  And by pushing the weights up, I have been seeing plateaus shattered.  (For example, tonight on the machine I did leg extensions with 105 lbs/leg - versus seventy lbs or so just a few weeks ago).  Take a look around the gym, and you'll undoubtedly see people working well below the 50% one-rep max that is required to stimulate muscle growth - every one of them is sub-optimizing their workout by doing so.  (If you are interested in figuring out your one-rep max on a given exercise, select a challenging weight, do as many reps as possible, and try this calculator.  It works at 20 reps but is more accurate at lower numbers.)

There is also evidence that the personal trainer achieves results by providing motivation and encouragement - again, very logical, but nothing a great workout partner couldn't provide for free.

The bottom line is that the right personal trainer, one with knowledge enough to tailor a workout to his or her clients' needs, can achieve results, and be a worthwhile investment to someone just starting out or looking to bust through a plateau.  However, if you are being honest in pushing yourself, with challenging weight loads and a good degree of motivation, you are probably getting most or all of what you would get out of a trainer-led session already.  

I am a procrastinator.  It is one of my biggest flaws - I will never do today that which can be completed tomorrow.  That really came back to bite me in my last 52DC, when I had to do three workouts the final day to hit my numbers, and ended up getting locked out of the gym that final night and came up one short on the RT's.

you'd think I would learn - but yesterday, I put off my RT due to some muscle soreness.  It shouldn't be critical, but it puts me two RT's away from hitting twenty-one by the end of the challenge.  A little tighter than I'd like to be.

And did I mention the two blown CE's on Friday, leaving me with just one more cheat if I'm to reach my eating goal?  Again, making this way harder than it needs to be.

I'm still determined to hit all three major goals, though - it will take a strong focus this week but it will happen.

I want to get my 26 blog posts in too, so the blogosphere better be ready for a bunch of posts (five more after this one!) this week!

As of mid-day Sunday, here's how my progress is shaping up...

Clean eating: 78/92/88 (88.64%)

Resistance Training: 19/21 (90.48%)

Cardio Training: 21/21 (100%)

PG1 (5% weight loss): 6.3/10.5 (60%)

PG2 (1500 crunches): 1382/1500 (92.13%)

PG3 (26 blog posts): 20/26 (76.92%)  (plus this one!)

Last night, I achieved one of the small, undocumented objectives of this 52 day challenge - I went for a real, outdoor run.  In public, where others could see me.  I've been doing the treadmill, on and off, for several months, and gotten pretty close to my goal of 3.1 miles (5km) in 30 minutes, but I haven't run outside for years.  Unfortunately, very few sanctioned 5k runs take place on treadmills, so I knew that sooner or later I'd have to venture out and try it on the road.  So, after much gnashing of teeth while studying my neighbourhood on mapmyrun.com, and obsessing over weather forecasts, I just laced on my 6-months-old-but-still-new New Balance shoes, ventured out the front door, and went for it.

Much to the surprise of my wife, I survived this first baby step (actually 1.75 miles of baby steps) in one piece.  I think it went pretty well - nobody pointed at me and laughed; my breathing sounded to me like a transport truck with faulty air brakes, but nobody else seemed to notice.  And it felt GOOD!  (Except for the "I'm gonna die" feelings that coincided with one of the walking breaks).

My time was actually about the same as on the treadmill, even though I took a break or three that I wouldn't have needed on the 'mill.  I think it's absolutely true that you run a little faster on the road, but it also takes some serious getting used to, stressing the cardio system more.

This was a great step for me - I know that I can get in a half hour of cardio without investing an hour and a half when factoring in the drive to the gym, changing, etc.

While running, my mind drifted back to years ago, when I used to take long late-night walks in similar streets, but smoking a half a pack or so to get my heart rate up instead of jogging.  All in all, this seems like a much better idea.

The results that people are achieving through the 52 Day challenge can be pretty impressive - body fat loss, muscle and strength gains, and improved performance in any number of different exercises or activities.  How does such a simple, unstructured program work to help participants achieve their personal goals?
One word - ACCOUNTABILITY. The discipline to, first, set the goals, then sit down every day and assess performance, also serves as motivation to work harder towards them. Although this seems obvious to me, a new study from UNC and the University of Kentucky, looking at eating habits, confirms it scientifically.  (The study was reported in the National Post today - LINK).

An interesting finding of the study is that the self-monitoring (writing things down) is a more effective motivator than peer motivation (ie reporting to a group, working with a trainer, or posting in a forum). That actually makes sense to me as well - I know from experience that I can post all I want, but if without wanting the end result enough, I won't make progress towards it. Posting my progress for all the world to see can be motivating, but it is taking the time to plan, log and track progress that sets the table for results, whether I just track it in a personal logbook or post it up for public consumption.

I think the main value of the 52DC forum is it does provide a framework for that sort of self-monitoring - it establishes start dates, end dates, and some suggested categories of goals; the rest of the process is left up to the participants. It is an ideal way to ensure that each participants owns their own goals and is accountable to themselves to ensure the targets are challenging and well-suited to their own fitness/wellness objectives.

It seems like everyone has a different idea of what "eating clean" means - to some it is about calories, some include fat/carb/protein targets, and for others, just avoiding too many pints of beer over the course of a day makes it "clean".  To me, it's all of the above, and I think dietary goals need to be personal given the complex ways that exercise, food, metabolism, sleep, stress, and all those other variables interact in forming and maintaining the physical self.  Rest assured, for virtually every diet, there are some studies somewhere both proving they are effective and debunking them as ineffective, so it is really about being aware of your own body and how it is reacting to the fuel it is given.   

For the record, my target range is 2200-2400 calories a day, and a 30/30/40 protein/fat/carb split, and two or less drinks for it to considered a clean day.  I will count it as "clean" at less than 2200, but I am also eating up to five meals a day on workout days, so below 2200 doesn't happen too much. 

On a much more basic level, though, I believe more and more that "clean eating" is about food that is as close to its natural state as possible.  I'm not a vegan, and I'm not a proponent of raw eating, but I can sense the difference in taste, and in my own energy level, when I eat natural whole foods as opposed to the ground/processed/enriched stuff that is so widely available.

Tonight, dinner was an air-chilled chicken done on a rotisserie, along with the first farm-fresh asparagus of the season and sweet potato wedges (both tossed with olive oil, salt, and pepper - the asparagus was grilled and the potato roasted with fresh rosemary.)  It took a couple of hours to cook, but total effort was minimal - there is nothing difficult about shoving a half a lemon in the back end of the chicken and letting it spin for a couple of hours on low heat!  The food was delicious, and in typical fashion, I was able to stick to smaller portions and feel satred.  Over half the chicken was left over (after feeding three) and we'll have low-fat, high-protein chicken meat for leftovers during the week.  (If we buy the lowest-cost chicken at the grocery store, we're lucky to get one meal out of it and the taste doesn't even compare.  I have really bought into paying a little bit more for the air-chilled, naturally-raised poultry.)

I haven't checked the calorie count tonight, or tried to figure out the split between carbs and protein, but when I cook like this I have no qualms about chalking up a clean eat.

With yesterday's chest/back workout in the books, tonight was a great opportunity to get out of my comfort zone on the CT side and get in a run.  (I should probably say, "run" in quotes, since my treadmill sessions are an ugly combination of running, walking, gasping, and sweating.  nothing like Alberto Salazar, or anything like that...)

After a 5 minute warm-up, I managed to do my benchmark 3.1 miles (5km) in under 33 minutes - getting close to my goal of a 30 minute 5k and well within striking distance to DO a 5k, outdoors, with actual other people, without using a bike or moped, this summer.

I'm not sure if once or twice a week is enough to get there, though.  With two or three spin classes a week, plus three RT's, it doesn't leave much time for running.  Like everything else in life - if I really want to become a runner (instead of a "runner") I need to prioritize it, rather than picking away at it in my spare time.

Tonight was the last workout of week two on the hard-body plan, with chest, back and abs on the agenda.  One of the things I am finding challenging is the wide variation of exercises for each body part on the plan.  Rows are the perfect example.

I am used to doing seated cable rows, varying between wide- and narrow-gripped variations, and maybe a round of DB rows thrown in there once a month or so.  The current routine demands quite a bit more variety - tonight was t-bar and dumbbell rows, both which seem to recruit more of the core than the seated cable variety.  On arms/shoulders day,  there are additional vertical rows, which engage the back as well as the shoulders.  And next week, good mornings come into the picture, hitting the lower back a bit differently again.

I am all for the "large" exercises such as squats and deadlifts, but the way this routine hits muscles in various ways over the three-week rotation seems to be really pushing me.  I am looking forward to evaluating the progress over the course of this program, as it seems like this variation from week to week should be pretty successful in developing strength a little more quickly than I was able to using a less structured routine.

I recently read a book co-written by Eric Heiden, MD, called Faster, Better, Stronger.  Dr. Heiden, for those of you a little younger than me, is one of those athletes who competed at the highest level in both summer and winter sports.  Besides competing in the Tour de France as a world-class cyclist, he completely dominated the sport of speed skating for a time, winning a record 5 gold medals in Lake Placid.  He is now a team doctor for the US speed skating team, as well as being a renowned orthopedic surgeon.  Watching him win race after race in the '80 Olympics is probably one of the first times I remember being completely awed by an athlete. I have not seen much discussion of Heiden's book, which lays out a 12-week program for improving anyone's fitness.

Faster Better, Stronger spends its first two sections presenting some in-depth background on the physiology of exercise and food.  It does a good job of explaining, in accessible terms, the relationship between diet, exercise, and overall fitness, while providing insight into the function of the human musculature and cardio-vascular systems, and how they react to work, diet, and exercise.  Two key takeaways for me included the importance of periodization in your routines (cycling through periods of more- and less-intense workload), and how to REALLY measure how hard your body is working (VOmax, anyone?) and what the various levels of effort mean.  The depth of medical knowledge, and the straightforward way it is presented, is where this book really sets itself apart.  Is any of this information going to be new to those who read magazines like Men's Health?  Maybe not, though I'd think it is more detailed, and delves more deeply into the underlying science, than virtually every other source I've seen out there. And you don't need to be an MD to understand it... 

The final section of the book provides workout routines for the 12-week program - the programs themselves will look somewhat familiar to readers of some of the other fitness books out there, but with the added "twist" of periodization.  All in all, while I have no first-hand insight into the effectiveness of the routines, I found the book presents intelligent and accessible information.  I recommend it to anyone wanting to learn more about exercise and how the body responds to it.

My venture into circuit training a few months ago demonstrated, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that my triceps were very weak.  I couldn't even get into position for a bench dip without collapsing to the ground, and even the overhead tri extension was painful with a light dumbbell or plate.  One of my objectives is to do something about that.

I have been doing assisted dips with hands close and elbows in tight - this seems to be a pretty good way to hit the tri's as well as the chest.  It's tough to keep the elbows from flying out though- and that brings in the chest.  I've dropped the dip and added a couple of isolation moves as part of the Plan  - cross-shoulder tri extension, and the dumbell triceps extension on the bench, are both included in the routine.  I'll see how the strength goes - if it doesn't increase, I may need to add a bit more focus instead of just doing triceps as part of arm/shoulders once a week.

I wrapped up week one of the "strict" hard-body plan on Wednesday with some good soreness in various muscles and some modest weight loss.  (I think the weight loss may have been due to a couple of light-eating "sick days" more than anything else, but at this stage I will take it.)  So it's time to move to workout week #2.

Most of the exercises are familiar, including the hack squat, and the upper-body routines are straightforward, but the leg day looks crazy.  Bench lateral step-ups (which I've never done before), front squats, hack squats, and duck squats make up four of the seven moves.  The duck squats look pretty odd - another move I can honestly say I've never seen in the gym.  I'll give it a go, and I may be calling for a wheelbarrow to cart me out of there after that workout!  I'll be looking at Tuesday or Wednesday for the legs/butt, after doing arms/shoulders on Sunday.

I should clarify, the program calls for barbell hack squats, not the machine-type hack squats I used to do back when I was intimidated by big barbells.  I really don't see the link between them - the machine hack squats never struck me as all that different than the leg press, with the exception of using body weight in addition to the plates loaded up on the machine.

But barbell hack squats - those are a different beast altogether.  I understand they target the quads a little more than "regular" squats, and definitely load up the upper back because of the arm position behind the legs.  I found that they went OK - I did more weight than front squats, and it was pretty much automatic to keep the back aligned upright instead of leaning forward and risking all sorts of nasty damage.  On the other hand, it seemed like my failure mode was in my grip more so than my leg muscles - on the third set, just hanging on was as tough as the squat itself.  In the true test, the next day me legs and butt felt pretty good, a little sore, but my upper back and shoulders felt like they had gone through one hell of a workout.  It took two days for them to recover - just in time for my next chest/back/abs workout.

I'm committed to the hack squats for the next 11 weeks as I work through the Hard-Body plan, but I'm thinking I'll find a place for them in my routine even after the program wraps up.  Especially if my grip gets stronger and I don't run the risk of dropping 200+ pounds on my heels!

As part of the rejigging of my program, I added side lunges to my leg routine today.  I think I tried them once before years ago, but felt way too awkward doing them.  This is an exercise I don't think I've ever seen anyone doing.

Well, under the new mantra of "by the book" I'm going to do them regularly.  Didn't quite have the form right today, but did do two sets of something approximating a side lunge.  Didn't notice anyone pointing and laughing, either, so that's a good thing.

BTW, here's a link showing what it is supposed to look like... http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/GluteusMaximus/BBSideLunge.html

Apparently it targets the gluteus maximus and quads, depending on how far you step.  And there is definitely no downside to a stronger, tighter gluteus maximus, is there?

I took a look through my "program" last night, the Men's Health Hard-Body Plan, and was somewhat shocked to see how far from it I have strayed from it over the past several months. I have been happy with the gains in strength, but I'm wondering if I'm getting the best results for the amount of effort going in.

The "plan" allows (even encourages) substitutions of exercises as long as all the right body parts are being worked, but I'm not doing a great job on hitting a lot of the secondary muscles as recommended. It's been months since I did a curl, for example, and the plan calls for three variants on them during arms-and-shoulders day. I haven't been ratcheting up the weight as frequently either - i've been hitting three sets of ten regularly on some exercises, long pst when I should be increasing. So, as of today, I'm going to be following the "plan", letter-for-letter, lift-to-lift, from this point foward. I'm planning to stick strictly with it for twelve weeks, to see what happens.

Almost.

I'm going to skip the "beginner" phase and jump right to the three sets/round intermediate routine, and I'm not sure I can hit the resting days exactly, but I will still ensure at least 2 days rest between workouts for any given body part, and I'm switching to the three-way split so each part gets hit once per week. It's weird that the beginner and intermediate workouts are almost exactly the same, except for reps.

One thing about the workouts is the liberal inclusion of hack squats, almost every week. I've never really done them, and have primarily been using front squats recently to combat my tendency to lean forward. Even using what I would consider reasonably light weight (usually 135 lbs) I still find myself struggling to stay vertical and underneath the bar. We'll see if the hack squat makes it any easier to maintain great form; I am considering doing very light-weight overhead squats (unloaded bar, maybe?) before my working sets to emphasize the strong, vertical form that is crucial when squatting. Overhead squats are another new thing for me; we'll see how it goes. Tonight is probably going to be arms and shoulders, as per week 1, day 1 of the "plan", so the report on the new squat forms will have to wait a few days.

It's been a while since my last post, but I have not been slacking in the challenge.  I'm on track with the RT's and well ahead on cardio, and in fact put in another 3 miles or so today.  The bad news is, I really had my lower-body weight training scheduled and am procrastinating again.  Blah.  My eating has been pretty sound (except for last Sunday...) too, and I'm seeing indications on the tape measure that progress on the 5% weight challenge is forthcoming as well.  I am down almost an inch on my ab measurement since the challenge started, to a number I haven't seen for quite a while!

All that said, I'm starting to feel that things are generally in a bit of a rut.  I'm back to obsessing about relatively minor things (how many tire reviews on www.tirerack.com does one need to read before deciding on a set of clearly-overdue tires???) and most seriously of all, I realized that my recent campaign to get rid of old/ripped/worn underwear has resulted in my having nine pairs of identical gitch, purchased at different times over the past eight months.  The joe fresh line may be reasonably priced, and nicely made, but would it have hurt to at least get different colours?  This is the clearest sign yet that, after fifteen months, I think I need a vacation.

My workout numbers are hiding a worrisome fact for this challenge - I've hit that rut that makes the commitment a lot tougher to achieve.  Although I'm on track on both the resistance and cardio portions, I've had a heck of a time dragging my but in for a lower-body workout this week.  I've been avoiding the weights, jumping into cardio classes or running on the treadmill to put off the inevitable.

Well, THAT STOPPED TONIGHT.  I got in a good lower-body RT, with big-weight (for me) front squats, leg extensions & curls, and my first sets of Bulgarian split squats of the challenge.  That whole thing about "muscle memory" seems to be a farce, by the way... a few times I almost toppled over during those sets, even at relatively low weights.

With the long weekend coming up, I'm hoping to get in at least two RT's and 2-3 CT's, and keep the diet clean.  I need to ramp up the water intake as well; I stopped drinking water, for the most part, and I'm actually seeing a negative impact from that on my weight.  Less than 2-3 litres of water in a day, and I think the body retains what little does come in.

Tonight, I stopped by the gym to get in a lower-body RT.  It miggt not hav ebeen a great idea, since my glutes and thighs are feeling pretty stiff today (maybe from running yesterday?  Or from spin class overload?)  I'm not really that strong on the "big" exercises, but the weight is still going up so that's been real encouraging.  Similar to the upper body, I warm up for 5-7 minutes on a cardio machine beforehand, and take about a minute between sets.

Tonight included:
1.  Front Squat - 3 sets of 10 or to failure.  Tonight was 115 lbs/10 reps, 135 /8, 135/7
2.  Barbell lunge, 95/10, 115/8, 115/8

3a.  Cable leg extension, 2x80 lbs/10 reps, 2x90/10, 2x95/8
3b.  Cable leg curl, 150/10, 165/10, 172/8
(3a and 3b done as a superset) 

4a.  Incline bench crunch, 30 reps and 25 reps
4b.  Back extension w/10lb plate, 25 reps and 20 reps
(4a and 4b done as superset)

It was a bit of a lazy night since I usually throw in another exercise or two - maybe another ab/core exercise, or something like a Bulgarian split squat to supplement the lunges and squats.  But given the way my legs were quivering before I even started, this seemed like an appropriate level of work.


Thought for the day - packaging up crappy junk food in ridiculously small bags and putting "less than 100 calories per bag!!!" on the outside does not change the underlying fact that it is still crappy junk food.    

Saturday got off to a pretty good start.  I got to the gym early enough to do an upper body training session, before getting into a 45-minute spin class to chalk up a cardio session as well.

I was a little discouraged by the weight I was pushing today, but a quick glance back through my log shows noticeable progress even from a few weeks ago so I guess there's nothing to get bummed about.  In case anyone is interested, my upper body routine lately goes something like this, completed in 40 minutes or so if I'm really humping:

1A  Bench press.  Three sets of ten (or to failure) at 115/135/135
1B  Cable row.  Three sets of ten (or to failure) at 135/150/150
(Superset 1A and 1B with no rest; ~ 1min rest between supersets)

2A  Dumbbell Flye.  Three sets of ten at 2 x 35/2 x 35/2 x 35.  Usually don't go to failure, instead focus on holding form
2B  Cable pulldown. Three sets of ten (or to failure) at 105/120/120
(Superset 2A and 2B with no rest; ~ 1min rest between supersets)

3A  Dumbell shoulder press.  Two sets today, ten reps (or to failure) at 2x35/2x35
3B  Bent-over lat raise. Two sets today, ten reps (or to failure) at 2x20/2x20.  Focus on form
(Superset 3A and 3B with no rest; ~ 1min rest between supersets)

Threw in some swiss ball crunches at the end as well - 35 reps)

I've come to the conclusion that my triceps are weak and limiting my other compound moves, so I usually try to add some tricep-specific stuff like pullovers.  Not today though due to time constraints.  I bounce between cable and free weights depending on my mood and the availability of equipment, and throw in dips and pull-ups once in a while as well, but this is the general form of my upper-body work.  Gotta work on my bench press - I just started doing BP's again over the past few weeks and I'd like to add some significant weight to it.

I've mentioned Alex Hutchinson's blog before - Sweat Science has some great information explaining, describing, and debunking various aspects of athletics and fitness.  This post - Why weight loss isn’t just “calories in minus calories out”, fleshes out (no pun intended) a lot of the less obvious factors that come into play besides just counting calories.  A few takeaways:  adrenaline dumps fatty acids into the blood stream, promoting the burning of fat; an extra cookie or five minutes extra on the treadmill will have negligible effect in the long term; and simple carbs raise insulin levels and prevent the body from consuming fat cells.

Interesting.  I finally have a scientific explanation for why one lousy 150-calorie beer seems to make me gain weight.  

Two days into the 52DC and I'm off to a good start, I think.  My daughter is visiting the grandparents for a few days so this is a good opportunity to get a jump on things.  I've booked two RT's and a CT already - a semi-spontaneous spin class on day one, along with an upper body workout, and then a lower body/core workout tonight for day two.  Might shift my hours ahead at work tomorrow to get in the evening spin class for another CT.

Tonight's clean eating was my first real hurdle - we went out to a great pub with a huge collection of micro-brews (including their house beer, which is AWESOME.  If anyone is in the area, I highly recommend the Golden Kiwi in Cambridge for good, fresh food, a unique menu, and a nice atmosphere.)  I behaved, skipped the fries with dinner and limited myself to a glass and a half of wine instead of two pints of beer.  Overall, my afternoon passed muster for a CE  so I'm 4 for 4.  Cool.

I've been missing form the 52DC community for a while but I haven't given up the fitness routine.  I have been hitting the gym fairly regularly 3-4 times a week, sometimes more, with my usual mix of spin classes and weight training.  As part of this challenge, I'm focusing on heavier free weights rather than some of the lower-weight, higher-rep stuff I was doing as part of a circuit training routine.

The three keys to succeeding in this challenge, for me, will be:

1)  hitting the weights.  As mentioned above, strength training is a priority - I want to get back to 3-4 times a week, split upper/lower body, and a focus on the "big" exercises like squats and bench press.

2)  higher protein, lower carbs.  No white bread, limited beer (1-2/week), and raw veggies instead of simple sugars/starches will all be part of my clean eating agenda.  I've found a local source for small all-natural corn tortillas, only 55 calories each along with protein and fibre - they have replaced bread in a lot of my meals already.

3)  high-intensity cardio, primarily on the bike, though I might start hitting the dreadmill and local outdoor running paths again.  My new running shoes have been festering in my trunk all winter, and it's time to break them out.

The prize at the end of this will be finally throwing out the ten-year-old Nikes I've been wearing for cycling and weight training, replaced with a good pair of lifting shoes and a pair of cycling shoes.  My hatred for those old shoes has become quite personal, they symbolize a whole lot of sloth that will finally be vanquished when I finally reach my 52DC weight goal of 199 lbs.