Day 94: Shredding Continues

Wow! Finally integrated a 5 cycle HIIT (4mph 1min, 8mph 1min, 9mph 1min, 10 mph 2mins). Felt good about that and had not done that in the first 12 weeks of my RTP transformation. I then worked out the chest and ended with 30 mins of steady state on the stationary bike.

Question... how long do you guys and gals take at the gym?
I end up taking around 3 hours sometimes. That includes... pre-workout stretching, HIIT, workout, steady state cardio, post-workout stretch, shower, sauna, shower.

Even more when I integrate my ab/core workout, which adds another 30 minutes to my already LONG workout.

How about you guys?

Day 92: Hydrostatic Testing Results In

Drove 240 miles today (thats round trip), to get a hydrostatic bodyfat test done. While I plan on scanning the document, here are the results:

Weight: 151.2 lbs
Body Fat%: 12.8%
Fat Body Mass: 19.4lbs
Lean Body Mass%: 87.2%
Lean Body Mass: 131.8lbs

What does this mean?
1. I need to shred harder!
2. Need to lose 6.2lbs of fat, to hit single digit %.
3. 9.5lbs of fat if I want to get to 7%

Interesting reality check for me. I have till the 27th to get to where I want to be, and there is nothing to stop me, especially after this 1 week break I gave myself.

I also purchased a home weight scale that also gives you a body fat reading. I used it right after the hydrostatic testing, and the weight scale said 14.3% Go figure, but at least I know that once the home scale reads 10%, I will actually be at single digits.

Just to recap, I have till the 27th to:
1. Get 6 Pack Abs (almost there...)
2. Get single digit body fat!
3. Still under wraps, but its a tribute to Van Damme.


P.S.: I'm back!

Day 86: 12 Weeks In

On several occasions, I have mentioned that I consider Adam Waters to be my mentor. Because of obligations due to work, and because of what my "guru" preaches, I have decided to take 1 week off from my training. It must sound strange seeing as I am in the middle of my first mission and while reluctant at first, I see it and feel it, as something beneficial. 12 weeks of non-stop cardio/weight training, bundled with the strictest of food intake, from one day to another, takes its toll on the body and mind.

These days off also happened to coincide with some business meetings I have to take care of, as well as some visits to the doctor's office. Trust me though guys, I already feel the itch to get back into the gym. I find myself doing exercises when I am sitting on chairs, in bed, or just on the couch. I cant wait to get back in there because I know just how hard I am going to hit those weights and how far I am going to push my body.

The picture shows what I was able to do with 81 days of dedication. I am never going back!

By the way, bowling can give you somewhat of a workout!

Day 84: Short Workout

Got caught up at work, once again! But I managed to get a good cardio workout. I guess Ill just have to stack all of my intense weight training on the last days of the week. Thinking about making the drive to get my body fat measured tomorrow. Will keep you all updated!

Day 83: Off Day

Rested today.

Hope you all had a good weekend.

Day 82: Who is YOUR "Guru"?

So I was reading Tom Venuto's blog, http://www.burnthefatblog.com/ and one of his posts mentioned "your 'guru'" and that got me to thinking, "Who is MY "guru"?" It was an easy answer of course, Adam Waters!

The things I do day in and day out, I do because Adam did them as well. I made my own RTP Transformation System by reading through every single post in Adam's blog! I don't nitpick and do only some of the things he says, I do it all. My training is based on his training. My nutrition is based on his nutrition. I figured if it worked for him, it should work for me, and well, pictures speak for themselves no?

I don't want to sound like I am kissing ass, but we are all shredders and we are all united because Adam is a person that won that respect from us, because of his incredible shred. He calls Tom Venuto the "super shredder", but in my mind, that title is Adam's.

I see different people use different books and follow different programs, some even make their own programs, and I got to wondering, "Shredders, who is YOUR "guru"?"

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I had a tough day at the gym today. Wasn't feeling all that motivated and was about to leave right after stretching. Even walked to the locker room to leave... but I kept asking myself "What are you doing?!" I went back in there and ripped through my HIIT, leg workout, and even did a few laps in the pool.

Sometimes I feel I don't do enough, even though I apply the "progressive overload" principle. Most of the time, my "not enough" mentality is great, because it assures a push outside of my comfort zone. However, it can also be detrimental, because I will leave the gym feeling I didn't do enough, when I did MORE than enough. Anybody ever experience that?

Day 81: Shredding for that Six Pack!

What do you all think? Getting there? I took this picture right after I finished a ab workout cycle that took me about 40 minutes. So I kind of cheated right, because I had just finished working out the abs, but this picture definitely made me happy.

Did some good Hybrid Cardio today, followed it with an awesome chest workout, and then did my ab workout cycle (Hurray for David Grisaffi!). I then did 10 laps in the pool as my steady state, and jumped into the sauna right after.

Have a good weekend guys!

Day 80: Rest Day

Rested today... abs were sore!

Ate some good Thai food... will be hitting the gym hard and early tomorrow.

Day 79

So, after reading Andrew's comment yesterday on my blog, I decided to try a different kind of HIIT. Instead of the 4mph, 8mph, 9mph, 10mph, that I normally do, I decided to go 1 minute at 4mph, followed by 3 minutes of 10mph. I put in 4 cycles and in the last cycles held the 10mph for 4 minutes. I felt good, even though half way through the HIIT I realized I had not started up my Nike+ SportBand! GAH!

I am seeing, what I believe to be some exponential changes in my body. By applying the "progressive overload" principle that Adam preaches, every day that goes by, my body gets faster, stronger, better. It wasn't long ago that I was still at my 160lbs plateau, well... guess what? I weighed myself today and I am now at 150lbs!

Even though I haven't gotten tested yet, I feel most if not all of those 10 lbs that were lost, were in fat. I am working out the major muscle groups every day, again... applying the progressive overload principle. I also decided to change the caloric deficit in my body, and I am now taking in more calories than I was before, because I was afraid I would fall into starvation mode, despite the fact that I was eating good to begin with.

I don't think anything has changed in me, except that everyday that goes by I feel I put more intensity into my workouts. Time is running out before Mission 1 is over, so I am feeling it more now. The one thing that has changed, is that I began intense core workouts, following David Grisaffi's book. Those circuits make me sweat as if I had just finished a long session of HIIT.

All-in-all, I feel great... and the momentum just keeps building up.

Day 78

Don't have much to report today. Went to the gym and worked out my arms. The workout was good and intense... I threw in some cardio as well, but made sure it wasn't too intense, because my legs weren't all there yet, after yesterday's leg workout.

Quick post, sorry guys. Work has been killing me, but I promise to keep doing the rounds across the blogs once I get more time.

Day 77: Sore Abs

I find it interesting that my abs are taking so much longer to recuperate after every workout, compared to the other muscles in my body. I am sure it is because they had never been subjected to the grueling type of workout they are seeing now, but even then I work out other body parts just as hard. But I love the DOMS, because I am positive I will be seeing results with David Grisaffi's book.

Today I ripped through my HIIT no problem. 4 cycles is getting to be too easy and "my treadmill", the only one I like to use at the gym only goes up to 10mph. I might need to find a treadmill that can go even faster. After my HIIT I blasted my quads and worked out my legs with my normal circuit. The fun part came with my ab workout and then 30 minutes of steady state on the stationary bike and on the stairmaster.

Good start to the week, Ill use this momentum to carry me through the rest of the week.

Day 76: Too Much Work

Today was the first time in a while, that work overwhelmed me to the point that I did not get to make a trip out to the gym. Any day other than Sunday and I would have been fine, but on Sundays my gym closes at 6PM, as opposed to the usual 10PM. I will have to make up for it with tomorrow's workout.

Hope you all had a good weekend.

Day 75: Water Down the Trachea... FUN!

Had a good day at the gym today, which was followed by a rather funny incident. After a good four cycles of HIIT at 4mph, 8mph, 9mph, and 10mph (1min, 1min, 1min, 2min x4), I worked out my chest today, and finished up with the core workout I began last week. The circuit training really kicked my butt last week, and I was finally able to shake off the last of the soreness my abs were feeling.

I did some steady state cardio right after, and then headed over to rent a couple of video games for the nephews who are coming over today. While there, I was drinking some water and it went down my trachea! I immediately coughed it out, but the cough my abdominal area hurt so bad, I could not catch my breath. My body kept coughing and I kept trying to gasp for air, but because of the bad soreness in the abs, I could not catch my breath. It felt like this went on for ever, but it was probably just for about 10 seconds. Kept laughing about it after a while.

Day 74: 4th of July

Gym was closed today and I decided to take the day off today. Woo!

Day 73

Quick post today. I worked out my legs today and did some hybrid-cardio. Gym is going to be closed tomorrow due to the 4th of July, so I guess Ill just get a few good miles in, because the Shredder+ Team is leaving me behind.

Day 72: Running with the Shredders

As Shredders, much of what we are about, is accountability. And what better way to be accountable when it comes to cardio/running, than with the Nike+ Sportband. As I mentioned yesterday, this little gadget is a lot of fun, and makes running, which we all know can be boring, a much more pleasant and rewarding exercise.

Regarding my workout today, I am loving David Grisaffi's 6 Weeks to 6-Pack Abs. The exercises are very demanding and they get me sweating and feeling the burn right away. The fact that they workout the core and do not simply focus on the superficial muscles, makes it well worth the time I invest in his workout, because I know it will help prevent injuries and make all of my workouts easier.

I did HIIT today, worked out the chest, then did my core/ab workout, and followed that with some steady state cardio (running).

I am having trouble synching my phone to the PC so I will post the picture tomorrow.

Day 71: Nike+ Rocks!

I had a very busy day at work today. In fact, the last two days have been extremely busy and today I did not get to hit the gym. I did however, run over to Finishline to buy a Nike+ SportBand, and wow, this thing is cool.

I was so excited I bought this, I got home after work, plugged it in, downloaded the software, got it up and running, waited for it to charge, and then went out for a jog at 10 at night. Ran 3.75 miles and then called it quits.

I think its going to be fun to participate with the others Shredders in the Fat 2 Phat IV challenge.

Goodnight.