Thursday, February 17, 2011

Working Out for a Better Me - Week 2

Hey there.  So the first week is in the book and I must say that I didn't go to the gym, or exercise, as much as I wanted.  I must have gone once or twice during that first week.  Week 2 started yesterday and I made sure to hit the gym that night, no matter what time.  That time ended up being closer to 11 pm.  lol  Anyways, here are my stats so far:

Height: 5'8''
Weight: 169 lbs (-2 lbs)
Waist: 36 1/2 inches (-1 inch)
Chest: 41 1/2 inches (-1/2 inch)
Left Bicept: 13 1/4 inches (no change)
Right Bicept: 13 1/2 inches (no change)

Not too bad for one week's worth of working out.  Then again, you really can't give much thought into those 2 lbs that I've "lost".  For all we know, they were flushed down the toilet (literally).  lol  The one stat that really made my eyes wide is the 1 inch loss from my waist.  Really?  I lost an inch already?  I don't know about that one.  I measure myself across my belly button.  I know.  I know.  That's the wrong way to do it, but because I can't really find my waist, I settled for a "landmark" spot to go over and my belly button was designated so called spot.  lol  And I know that it's only been a week but I'm a little disappointed that there was no change in my biceps.  Yeah, I know... it's only a week, but still.  It's like I said in my previous post, I feel like I'm driven by numbers if I see the slightest of change, I may be more encouraged to get more done.  So far my routine is as follows:

20 minutes of cardio (alternating between elliptical, bike, treadmill)
Circuit strength training:
40 (or so) reps of bicep curls, triceps dips, shoulder press, chest press, butterflies, and rows.

Now... my so called circuit training is quick, but to the point.  One thing I noticed about people at the gym is they sit around a lot.  There's too much resting between reps.  I try to eliminate that by resting no more than a minute between reps.  So I'll start off  10 curls on each arm, then rest 1 minute, then do 10 butterflies, then rest a minute and so on and so on.  I think this method will confuse the muscles more than sitting on a single machine and doing 40 or so reps before moving on for an extended period of time on another machine.  My last set is always more than I can lift and will do only as much as my body will allow.  It pretty much means that when I leave the gym, I leave feeling pretty damn sore.  If there's flaws in this method, do tell.  I want efficiency and I want to do it right.  I also have some dumbbells at home that I'll start incorporating into my routine.  Maybe adding a few more reps before calling it a night.  Let me know what are your training methods, if any.  Or if you just wing it, how is that working for you?  Hope to hear from you soon.  Later!

5 comments:

  1. Keep up the good work =)

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  2. Good for you! I'm on a quest to lose weight as well. All I have to say, though, is that I will never quit being jealous of men's ability to metabolize faster, and thus lose weight faster. SO not fair :)

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  3. Hey there Fluffer,

    It's cause us men are more bad ass than women!!! Muahahahahahaha!!! I kid, I kid. lol It can be a blessing and a curse. Because of my high metabolism, I struggled to keep weight on! I was always stick thin until I really put forth the effort to gain weight that it finally stayed. But now, it seems that I put on a little too much so I'm trying to shave some off. Best of luck to you and your quest! Later.

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  4. woo hoo for you!!! We are about the same size & on the same path apparently. Those that rest for so long or are doing major weights and reps are now getting what they could out of it...of course they could have different goals. A 30 second rest between sets or cycles (when you do 2 or 3 exercises one after another) is fine - more if you need it. Actually, keeping the rest time lower only helps to up your workout by adding a cardio component...a great time saver!

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  5. oh - and it's only the metabolism that is more badass :P And is it sad that I admitted to the same size? nah...at least I'll keep telling myself that.

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