Unleashing The Beast :: FitBob

Calories Burned, Last Two Weeks’ Exercise: 6249
Equivalent Fat Calories: 1.74 pounds
Estimated Fat Loss: 2 pounds / 1% of body weight

Two weeks in – feeling bigger, better and stronger every day. My sleep patterns have returned to normal; I’m going to bed around 11:30, falling right asleep, and generally sleeping about eight hours a night. After particularly hard training days, I’ve even slept 10+ hours. (Haven’t slept that much in years!)

The nice thing about my Polar heart rate monitor is that I can download my workout info to my computer and can view it in calendar format. It’s more useful for analyzing my cycling workouts since the bike computer tracks mileage, elevation change, etc. but in the gym it’s good to get an accurate measurement of total caloric expenditure.

Gained 5-7 pounds and put on some nice muscular size during the first weeks of training (approx. 1″ on arms, chest and legs.) Weight has stabilized during week two at 204 pounds, +/- 2 depending on hydration levels. I estimate my bodyfat percentage to be around 16%… looking forward to getting calipers or tested regularly for more accurate data there.

My moods have continued to be more positive and upbeat overall. The body likes to be active! (duh) I had a few beers when out with friends earlier in the week and definitely noticed the effects the next day – not only was my motivation weaker, my body felt more fatigued and I just felt more “blah” overall. Duly noted.

Now that my bod is feeling pretty good, it’s time to start incorporating deadlifts into my workouts once a week. “Deads” are a great exercise that hit the quads, hams, glutes, lower back, shoulders, biceps and forearms in one lift! Strict form is MANDATORY so I’ll start out pretty light; probably do ‘em on back day.

Other than a few days when I didn’t eat enough, I’ve been sticking to my eating plan well. I need to remember to up my carbohydrate intake a bit to keep energy levels high. And I am starting to see the changes in my physique – especially when lifting. A bit more vascularity, a bit more definition, a bit more progress. Good stuff!

WIth the holidays nearing, I have a bunch of family obligations this week. While they shouldn’t interfere with my schedule, if I have to miss an extra day or two this week I’m sure my body will like the extra recovery time. It’s easy to overtrain, especially when beginning a new program. Better to rest and recover than slow progress by training too much.

The last week’s focus has been on detoxing the bod and getting back in the gym, and it’s been a resounding success. I trained consistently over the week on a 2-on, 1-off schedule focusing on lifting and being sure to include some cardio work as well.

Apart from not getting enough calories yesterday, diet was solid. Lots of protein, complex carbs and good fats. I’m considering building a plugin to track food intake, times, calories, CPF breakdown, etc. and will post my meal logs when I get that resolved.

I’m definitely feeling the effects of training now – a bit sore, greater muscle fullness, and the occasional achy joint. I’m also getting tired at “normal” hours and generally sleeping well now. Last week I had a few nights of near-zero sleep as my metabolism got busy flushing toxins. Thankfully, regular training seems to have reset my sleep cycles and I’m sleeping better than I have in a year.

Over the last seven days I have gone from 197.6 to 202.6 pounds – gaining five pounds of muscle. Some of the gain is surely water weight, but the fit of my pants has stayed the same or improved a bit. My calorie intake has been around 1800/day which, from past experience, seems to be the sweet spot for me to lose fat and not so much muscle. Obviously, this is a less than optimal method of tracking true progress, but since I don’t have a place to get tested right now, I’m relying on the mirror and scale combination to gauge progress.

I’ll be joining a new gym before the end of the year and the plan is to get my body composition tested every week so I can modify training/diet as needed. I also will be firming up my training goals for the next month/quarter/year, at which time “real training” can begin. Right now I’m just getting back in the groove of things…

Week One is Done. On to Week Two!

After an emotionally trying year that resulted in general apathy, I have finally reached the point where I could no longer stand what I had become, and have taken back control of my life. Chief among these actions was the decision to clean up my diet and get back in the gym.

What a difference it makes! After only a week, I have added muscle, lost fat, and feel 100% better overall. Not only that, but my sleeping patterns have returned to normal. Previously, I would wake up after only 3-4 hours of sleep – not healthy, let alone optimal – but now that I’m training again, I’m usually sleeping 8-9 a night.