Week 12...Getting Anal(ytical)

I'm in the stretch drive now, which has led me to conclude that there's no way around counting calories, for me, at least, from here on out. I need to have the numbers in order to judge how much and what I eat is affecting my body composition. I'm measuring and weighing everything I eat now, and tracking my calories, protein, carbs, fat and sodium. In these final three weeks, I'll be tweaking and adjusting my intake to get the desired results. I'm also slowly increasing my cardio, both in duration and intensity. My weight training will stay about the same, as I'm honestly losing a little strength as the weight comes off, so it's not likely I'll make any increases there.

I'm hoping not to make my family's life a living hell these next few weeks. I'm spending a LOT of time in the kitchen now, and probably too much time thinking about food and exercise as I attempt to get as lean as possible.

Here's the current numbers:

Weight: 146.6 lbs.
Waist: 30.3" (had been 30.0" the previous 2 days, so maybe some water retention?)

Back Shot, Week 11

I obviously can't see this view in the mirror, so I wanted a "progress report" photo of my back. Got more cuts than I realized. Validation for the pull-ups, rows & deadlifts.

Week 11....Drained

My cold has morphed into an upper respiratory infection, so it's now not only in my head & sinuses, but it's partying down in my chest. It has left me feeling quite drained & weak. My last few workouts have been pretty uninspired. Today's weights session was cut in half.

I think my calorie restriction may be sharing the blame for my energy drought, too. I'm now on ZERO processed sugar and lower carbs than normal. I dropped 2.9 lbs. last week, which is more than desired. I need to slow down the loss. This is where the calorie count would be nice to have. Still, I'll soldier on and adjust as I go. I'd prefer to only lose a couple more pounds by the end of the month before I binge like a frothing-at-the-mouth maniac.

I'm definitely losing some muscle mass along with the fat. The photos don't always tell the whole story, but my arms, chest, shoulders and legs are shrinking, along with my waist. I must say that I'm more of a fan of being in a positive calorie balance than my current situation. But, the show must go on.

Which brings us to this week's photos:

Turning A Corner

I've started to notice a pretty significant transition this week. This morning, my waist measurement was 30.5"...which is the first time it's been that small in many months (probably when I was running 40+ miles/wk. I hit 29.9" right before my marathon last year...but with far less muscle). Granted, my waist measurement fluctuates about a half an inch on any given morning, based on water retention and bloating (yes, I AM a man), but it's a good sign. Also, just the visual cues are telling me that I'm getting a little leaner. There seems to be more definition between the abs.

So...the suffering I spoke of earlier this week may not be as intense as I expected. My current diet isn't terribly extreme, yet progress is being made. I'll continue as-is until I see the progress stalling. One key is to very gradually coax the fat loss. Unless you have a LOT of bodyfat to lose (i.e. Biggest Loser contestant), you don't want to lose too much, too soon. That causes the body to go into starvation mode, which forces the body to conserve fat by slowing the metabolism. As my goal date approaches, I'll be constantly evaluating my status to determine what subtle changes need to be made.

As I spoke on my running blog about balance, I think I'm finding balance in this quest. My body told me I was starting to overtrain, so I cut back from 3 weight workouts and 3 aerobic sessions per week to two each (still doing pushups, pullups, situps, dips and squats daily). It seems to be working. My energy level has been good. Part of that is probably attributed to a cleaner diet, too, although I haven't been getting enough sleep (work has been crazy).

Speaking of diet...here are a couple of key things I've been doing, aside from eliminating processed sugar (well, 95% of it). My lunch is probably the most affected meal of my day. A typical lunch now consists of a half sandwich, large carrot and a large whole apple (today, I added a mini orange). For the sandwich, the only condiment I use is mustard (zero calories). I add one slice of ham, one slice of turkey, one slice of cheddar cheese, two cucumber slices and some lettuce. As a mental trick, I cut the half sandwich in half, so it looks like I have two halves. Silly, maybe, but it seems like I'm eating more. I've noticed that my stomach capacity has decreased, so I get full easier. Like I said, I'm monitoring my weight closely, and if it drops too quickly, I'll increase the intake slightly.

Finally, here are a couple of shots after today's workout.

Week 9 (Here Comes The Suffering)

It's already week 9 in this silly quest, which means it's time for the major deprivation to begin. I've already been watching chocolate chip cookies disappear into the mouths of my wife and kids, as I take another bite of my daily apple. Well, I've been sneaking a small treat here and there, actually, but this week begins the "no processed sugar" portion of my self-torture quest for sharp six-pack abs.

As you may have deduced, I'm pretty much playing this by ear (or, by mirror and tape measure). I refuse to count calories. It's too hard. I'm too lazy. I'm simply eliminating most foods that have a lot of calories with little bulk, in favor of lots of fruits, veggies, whole grains and dairy (light on the cheese). Most of my protein will come from chicken breasts, eggs, natural peanut butter and nonfat milk. I'm not sure if I have the guts to completely cut out coffee, as I previously stated I would. I've cut way back, but life without my little cup of gold every morning may not be worth living.

WORKOUT NOTES:
I've noticed, as my diet has become stricter and I'm starting to drop a little weight, that my overall strength seems to be declining just a little. I'm not sure if that's an effect of insufficient calories or waning motivation. I've been feeling tired and weak lately. I will say that my workload the last several weeks has been pretty intense (and stressful), and I have never been able to deal with stress all that well (well, running certainly helps, but I won't be able to do that again for awhile).

From here on out, I'm going to be less concerned with hitting PB's in my exercises and focusing more on lifting with very good form and keeping my muscles under tension for a good period of time during each set. I've incorporated standard planks into my core routine. I used to do them regularly, but haven't for a couple of years. So those, along with weighted crunches and hanging leg raises comprise my abs routine.

Eh, what the heck. I'll throw up some photos, even though I have yet to see much of a difference from week to week. Actually, the one thing I notice is more vascularity in my forearms in the top photo. I'm assuming that's from a slightly lower bodyfat level. Or, maybe I was just flexing them harder today.

Week 5.5 (Okay, I Lied)

Insane workload or not, I NEEDED to get in at least one workout this week. Today marks one month since I publicly stated my goal of developing a defined six-pack by the end of February 2011. According to the photos, not much has changed. I may have gained a bit of muscle mass, but my weight and waist measurements are virtually unchanged. Due to my heel injury, I've done very little cardio work...which means diet and weight training are the key factors in the loss of bodyfat I’ll need to achieve in order to expose the elusive washboard abs. I've started using additional resistance in my crunches (holding a weight plate on my chest), along with hanging leg raises. Admittedly, I'm kind of in a holding pattern until about mid-January, when I'll start adjusting my diet. Until then, I'm trying to maintain control, while still enjoying holiday goodies. The workouts will become more intense as well. The rest periods I'm currently using between sets (currently 90 seconds) will be reduced around that time as well.

Okay, here are the (somewhat redundant) photos:

Have a Merry Christmas, folks!

Week 4

Once again, there isn't much visual difference showing up in the photos. I can say that I've gotten stronger on nearly all of my lifts, and I believe there is some muscle growth, but as far as bodyfat levels are concerned, there's no decrease. In fact, it may be nudging up a bit. No cause for concern yet, though.

My workouts are still primarily focused on building strength. Right now, I'm only lifting weights twice per week (and doing bodyweight exercises most other days). I've learned that my body needs time to both recover, then rebuild. As I approach cut-down time, I'll reduce the number of sets I do, but keep the intensity (weight and reps) high, much like a running program would be structured leading into a key race. The body needs less volume so it can recover, yet the intensity should be maintained so as to not lose sharpness (in this case, muscle size and definition). I've read a lot of well-informed articles stating that, despite old-school thinking, lifting lighter weights for more reps does NOT increase definition, but keeping the weights relatively high, but with shorter rest periods will help retain muscle size & definition during a "peak" phase. The definition and "cuts" come from slowly reducing the level of bodyfat.

As for cardio, I got the go-ahead to do some swimming and light spinning, but after doing an easy 20 minutes on Precor's version of the Lifecycle, my heel ached for two days. Once work lets up (crazy busy this week), I'll give the pool a try.

I did hit a milestone yesterday. For several weeks, I've been trying on and off to do 100 pushups in 4 minutes. I finally hit that goal yesterday by doing 102. My next goal is to do a single set of 20 pullups (I'm currently stuck at 17).

Enough blabber. Here are this week's photos:

Week 3...and Back Tips

I'm realizing that there really isn't much change in my appearance from week 1 to week 3. That may be that case until I start working specifically to burn the fat late next January and all of February. I'm working on increasing my strength, but I don't want to bulk up too much for a couple of reasons: I don't want to put on too much fat since it'll be harder to burn it off, and quite frankly my wardrobe is limited and I want to be able to fit into my jeans! I think I'm adding just a bit of muscle (I only measure my waist), but it's probably not noticeable.

Here are this week's photos:

I also want to talk about back training. A lot of people who do casual weight training prefer to work on the showy muscles — biceps and pecs — and neglect their backs. Not only is this a bad idea from an aesthetic point of view, but it's terrible for posture. If your anterior delts and pectorals are overly developed and your back is underdeveloped, you'll end up having a hard time not slouching and rolling your shoulders forward. A strong and developed back helps to keep your upper body posture balanced. Our backs also tend to be weak links (lower back, in particular) and are easy to injure if they're neglected. Personally, I enjoy training my back more than any other body parts. I keep it simple. Deadlifts, bent rows and pull ups cover all three “planes” of movement (pulling up, pulling in, pulling down, respectively). For the first two, I wear a weightlifting belt for safety. Since I haven't posted a back photo yet, here's a recent shot of my still-a-work-in-progress back:

That's it for now. I'm REALLY itching to start doing some cardio...

Week 2...and Post-Thanksgiving Fallout?

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving holiday and enjoyed time with your families. I certainly did, even though it was in about a foot of snow across the state at my dad and step-mom's house. The kids had a (snow)ball, though!

As I suspected, the food situation would be challenging. With absolutely NO disrespect toward my my wife and my mom, my step-mom is a GOOOOOD cook. And her pies (made from scratch) should be illegal. Her pecan pie can make captured spies give up sworn secrets.

So how did I do? First of all, I didn't deny myself of the goodies. I partook in Thanksgiving as usual, with one slight adjustment. This year, I didn't stuff myself to the point of being sick, like I have the last who knows how many years. Yes, I filled my plate, but I didn't go back for seconds. I basically just controlled my portions (meals and desserts). Here at home, I have more control over my dietary choices, so an occasional indulgence while visiting the family during the holidays isn't akin to a fitness train wreck. If you deny yourself ALL the time, you're setting yourself up to binge. Trust me, I've been there.

As for workouts, I managed to utilize my dad's exercise room once, but threw in push-ups, sit-ups and hanging dips once a day (I do at least one set of each every day, along with pull-ups when I'm at home). Today, I hit the weights pretty hard, too, starting to increase my poundages.

Even though I've backed myself into a corner by choosing the end of February as my target date for the shining 6-pack, I'm going to periodize my training (much like I do as a runner). This next month will be dedicated to lifting heavier weights and increasing muscle mass. I'll loosen my diet just a bit (i.e. I'll increase calories), but it won't be a free-for-all with the goodies. It's much easier to build muscle mass while taking in slightly more (healthy) calories than maintenance level. Consequently, my abs, as they are now, may lose some definition. I'll do my best to keep them visible, but my focus will be on gaining a little weight which, hopefully, will be mostly muscle.

Beginning in January, I'll switch gears once again, then again in February, in order to burn off the remaining fat while hopefully preserving most of the muscle. I'll detail those approaches later.

And with all that said, here are this week's comparison photos: