tenaciousglee Posted January 3, 2015 Report Share Posted January 3, 2015 Main Goal: Bulk up to 175 pounds with 12% body fat by my 40th birthdayCurrent Status: Measly 156 pounds at 15-20% body fat and just turned 38 How am I going to do it? It may take some divine intervention, but I have a plan: HIT it! Goal 1: Lift! Follow the workouts in The New High Intensity Training by Ellington Darden.Darden has a variety of workouts in the book, and I should probably play it safe and just follow the beginner routine, but I was intrigued by the workouts focused on specific areas of the body. So I'll be focusing on Arms, Shoulders, and Chest (while not neglecting the rest of the body). For the first 3 weeks, I'll do 3 days a week: A-B-C, and then for the last 3 weeks I'll switch to 2 days a week and do A-B, C-A, B-C. Total of 15 possible workouts. Goal 2: Eat! If I'm going to get up to 175 pounds, I need to eat more. Every day. Plenty of carbs, protein, and fat. My weight has been all over the place for the last 2 years and I *think* I'm finally ready to commit to just gaining some dang weight. If I stick with the weight training and don't overdo the calories, I should hopefully build more muscle than fat. I'll worry about losing any excess fat once I get closer to my goal weight. My plan for this challenge is to continue to eat healthy (more meat, fruit, veggies, and water; less candy, donuts, desserts, and soda) but also to make sure I get 300-500 extra calories a day. Goal 3: Mug shots. I've been dutifully taking progress pictures for over 2 years, but I've never really done much with them. My plan is to put together a progress collage (a la Waldo) so that I can actually see when I was making good progress and then correlate that to what kind of diet I was eating and what exercise plan I was on at the time. I've got around 30-40 pictures, so I'm going to shoot for just adding one a day over the challenge. I tried this project once before and lost several hours worth of work when my Photoshop crashed and I hadn't saved any of it... If I stick to one a day, that will be a more manageable time commitment and it will force me to save! Life Goal: Get The Band Back Together! I play bass, guitar, and banjo. Or rather, I own a couple of basses, a guitar, and a banjo. I don't play them nearly enough. So my life goal for this challenge is to play at least one of those instruments for an hour a week. That works out to less than 10 minutes a day! Plus, it aligns nicely with my wife's new year's resolution to learn to play the mandolin. She loves to play/practice and I am terrible at it, so hopefully we can spur each other on and it may even bring us closer together. As everyone knows, you have to keep your woman happy, otherwise... 1 Quote Level 32 Minifig Jedi Assassin Current Challenge | Battle Log | "Epic" Quest Previous Challenges: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 11.5, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34 "A man who wants to do something will find a way; a man who doesn't will find an excuse." -Stephan Dolley, Jr. "You don't get stronger by skipping workouts." - me, to myself, about 3 times a week Link to comment
tenaciousglee Posted January 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2015 A few random thoughts before the challenge begins: I've gone back and forth about what my "main goal" should be over the years, switching between adding mass vs getting stronger vs mastering certain skills. At the end of the day, though, I always feel too skinny and just want to put on some weight. I arrived at my current goal (175# with 12% BF) after finding this post about muscular potential during my October challenge.I haven't had much success building noticeable muscle over the last two years and I know I don't have the body type/genetics to be a he-man, but I discovered an interesting chart in the New High Intensity Training that determines your muscle building potential based on biceps length. The greater the distance from the inside of your elbow to the edge of your flexed biceps, the lower your potential. My potential is "poor". But that's okay, I don't really want to be a bodybuilder, I just want to be bigger. By comparison, look at the cover of the New HIT: and then here's me: Last random thing is I keep doubting myself because I'm not 21 and in the prime of my muscle-building years. One of the things that stuck with me from the New HIT book is that the model for all the exercise photos is 38-years-old, 6-foot-tall, 184 pounds, and 3-4% body fat. If he could look this good at 38, there's hope for me at 40! Quote Level 32 Minifig Jedi Assassin Current Challenge | Battle Log | "Epic" Quest Previous Challenges: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 11.5, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34 "A man who wants to do something will find a way; a man who doesn't will find an excuse." -Stephan Dolley, Jr. "You don't get stronger by skipping workouts." - me, to myself, about 3 times a week Link to comment
Librarian of Doom Posted January 4, 2015 Report Share Posted January 4, 2015 You know what you want, goals look solid! Time to kick some ass! Quote Hobbit Ranger seeking balance (and cookies) Current Challenge Link to comment
tenaciousglee Posted January 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2015 You know what you want, goals look solid! Time to kick some ass! Welcome back, LoD! Great to see you! Quote Level 32 Minifig Jedi Assassin Current Challenge | Battle Log | "Epic" Quest Previous Challenges: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 11.5, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34 "A man who wants to do something will find a way; a man who doesn't will find an excuse." -Stephan Dolley, Jr. "You don't get stronger by skipping workouts." - me, to myself, about 3 times a week Link to comment
Librarian of Doom Posted January 4, 2015 Report Share Posted January 4, 2015 Welcome back, LoD! Great to see you! Thanks! It's great to be back; I needed a kick in the ass to do better on consistency. Quote Hobbit Ranger seeking balance (and cookies) Current Challenge Link to comment
Phayze Posted January 4, 2015 Report Share Posted January 4, 2015 You know what you want, goals look solid! Time to kick some ass!This, this and this^3! No waffling, just set your crosshair and give it both barrels!Also, I love the blues brothers theme. Classic geekery. ^^ Quote Level 0 Air Nomad Assassin STR: 0 STA: 0 DEX: 0 CON: 0 WIS: 0 CHA: 0 Current Challenge: [Url= http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/80570-phayze-accepts-an-apprenticeship-as-an-airbender-respawn/]Apprentice Airbender![/url] Check Out My LEGO Stuff on Flickr! "The next golden age of human achievement begins here and now" -Neil Degrasse Tyson, Cosmos Link to comment
tenaciousglee Posted January 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2015 This, this and this^3! No waffling, just set your crosshair and give it both barrels!Also, I love the blues brothers theme. Classic geekery. ^^ You know it, man. Auto-pilot is the way to go sometimes. I got inspired to do the Blues Brothers theme after I decided to make the HIT a goal (you know, "Hit it.") and then tailored my other goals slightly to fit. I had a ton of fun finding old quotes and gifs. I went to go watch the movie last night and realized I only own it on VHS and have no idea where my wife and I stashed our tapes after our last move, 4 years ago. May be time to check Amazon - or maybe my local library... 1 Quote Level 32 Minifig Jedi Assassin Current Challenge | Battle Log | "Epic" Quest Previous Challenges: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 11.5, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34 "A man who wants to do something will find a way; a man who doesn't will find an excuse." -Stephan Dolley, Jr. "You don't get stronger by skipping workouts." - me, to myself, about 3 times a week Link to comment
tenaciousglee Posted January 6, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2015 Mmmm... Day One Motivation... Lift: checkEat: checkPhotoshop: check x8! Once I got started, I didn't want to stop! But I made sure to hit save often.Music: check - Had a mini jam session with my wife. I played guitar and she played mandolin. We played You Never Need Nobody by The Lone Bellow (get to know them!) and I'll Fly Away. I hope everyone else had as good a day one! Quote Level 32 Minifig Jedi Assassin Current Challenge | Battle Log | "Epic" Quest Previous Challenges: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 11.5, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34 "A man who wants to do something will find a way; a man who doesn't will find an excuse." -Stephan Dolley, Jr. "You don't get stronger by skipping workouts." - me, to myself, about 3 times a week Link to comment
Librarian of Doom Posted January 6, 2015 Report Share Posted January 6, 2015 You know it, man. Auto-pilot is the way to go sometimes. I got inspired to do the Blues Brothers theme after I decided to make the HIT a goal (you know, "Hit it.") and then tailored my other goals slightly to fit. I had a ton of fun finding old quotes and gifs. I went to go watch the movie last night and realized I only own it on VHS and have no idea where my wife and I stashed our tapes after our last move, 4 years ago. May be time to check Amazon - or maybe my local library... \ support your local library! Mmmm... Day One Motivation... Lift: checkEat: checkPhotoshop: check x8! Once I got started, I didn't want to stop! But I made sure to hit save often.Music: check - Had a mini jam session with my wife. I played guitar and she played mandolin. We played You Never Need Nobody by The Lone Bellow (get to know them!) and I'll Fly Away. I hope everyone else had as good a day one! Great day one!!! Keep that momentum going! 1 Quote Hobbit Ranger seeking balance (and cookies) Current Challenge Link to comment
tenaciousglee Posted January 6, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2015 \ support your local library! You know I put that in there just for you. Great GIF, by the way. Quote Level 32 Minifig Jedi Assassin Current Challenge | Battle Log | "Epic" Quest Previous Challenges: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 11.5, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34 "A man who wants to do something will find a way; a man who doesn't will find an excuse." -Stephan Dolley, Jr. "You don't get stronger by skipping workouts." - me, to myself, about 3 times a week Link to comment
Librarian of Doom Posted January 7, 2015 Report Share Posted January 7, 2015 You know I put that in there just for you. Great GIF, by the way. Awwww. /blushes I'm doing all Supernatural gifs this challenge...they just kind of bled over into your thread Quote Hobbit Ranger seeking balance (and cookies) Current Challenge Link to comment
tenaciousglee Posted January 7, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2015 Not sure how often I'll be updating this thread. At least once a week for recaps. I keep my workouts in my battle log, so I won't bother re-posting them here. Without that staple, I'm not sure what else to say. I didn't do any music playing or mug shot work last night, but I did look up the chords for a song I want to try on banjo and I got 8 mug shots done on Day 1, so I can afford a little slacking there. Also, I may have an opportunity to play with some friends tonight. The eating and working out continue. My weight may be going up too fast, which is usually a sign that I'm putting on more fat than muscle. I don't want to jump to any conclusions, though, so I'll stick with the plan for a week or two and then adjust overall calories if needed. Quote Level 32 Minifig Jedi Assassin Current Challenge | Battle Log | "Epic" Quest Previous Challenges: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 11.5, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34 "A man who wants to do something will find a way; a man who doesn't will find an excuse." -Stephan Dolley, Jr. "You don't get stronger by skipping workouts." - me, to myself, about 3 times a week Link to comment
Librarian of Doom Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 Muscle gains are so frustratingly inexact and different for each person. I think giving it time before you assess and adjust is probably a good plan. Quote Hobbit Ranger seeking balance (and cookies) Current Challenge Link to comment
tenaciousglee Posted January 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2015 Muscle gains are so frustratingly inexact and different for each person. I think giving it time before you assess and adjust is probably a good plan. "frustratingly inexact" - You said it! Not enough calories = no muscle gain (or even muscle loss) & too many calories = fat gain. Quote Level 32 Minifig Jedi Assassin Current Challenge | Battle Log | "Epic" Quest Previous Challenges: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 11.5, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34 "A man who wants to do something will find a way; a man who doesn't will find an excuse." -Stephan Dolley, Jr. "You don't get stronger by skipping workouts." - me, to myself, about 3 times a week Link to comment
tenaciousglee Posted January 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2015 Still plugging along in week 1. I've hit all 3 workouts and gotten in my muscle-gain shake all 5 days this week. I didn't play any music on Tuesday night, but made up for it on Wednesday and Thursday. Probably close to an hour for the week. I'm glad I got 8 pictures done on Monday because I haven't gotten back to it since then. That may end up being my pattern as Monday nights are usually pretty slow for me and if I can knock out a week's worth of pictures, I don't have to stress about it for the rest of the week. Quote Level 32 Minifig Jedi Assassin Current Challenge | Battle Log | "Epic" Quest Previous Challenges: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 11.5, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34 "A man who wants to do something will find a way; a man who doesn't will find an excuse." -Stephan Dolley, Jr. "You don't get stronger by skipping workouts." - me, to myself, about 3 times a week Link to comment
QuirkyDM Posted January 9, 2015 Report Share Posted January 9, 2015 That article on body maximum is pretty interesting. I'm a little scared to look at my bicep now for fear of what I'll think about it. Quote Quirky DM My Battle Log: QuirkyDM going Quazy "Success is simply a matter of luck. Ask any failure." Link to comment
tenaciousglee Posted January 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2015 That article on body maximum is pretty interesting. I'm a little scared to look at my bicep now for fear of what I'll think about it. Yeah, that article and the section of the book were both disheartening and somewhat of a relief now that I can set some more realistic goals. Here's a snapshot of the bicep chart from the book. Quote Level 32 Minifig Jedi Assassin Current Challenge | Battle Log | "Epic" Quest Previous Challenges: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 11.5, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34 "A man who wants to do something will find a way; a man who doesn't will find an excuse." -Stephan Dolley, Jr. "You don't get stronger by skipping workouts." - me, to myself, about 3 times a week Link to comment
Librarian of Doom Posted January 11, 2015 Report Share Posted January 11, 2015 I'm a little curious about my muscle gain potential, but that would require me to be able to tell where the "inner edge of my contracted biceps" is. I can see some muscles pretty well when I flex...the biceps are not them. Quote Hobbit Ranger seeking balance (and cookies) Current Challenge Link to comment
tenaciousglee Posted January 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2015 I'm a little curious about my muscle gain potential, but that would require me to be able to tell where the "inner edge of my contracted biceps" is. I can see some muscles pretty well when I flex...the biceps are not them. I don't know about potential, especially for you, since this book doesn't mention women bodybuilders at all. But, I do remember seeing this from Brad Pilon on ideal measurements. Not sure if that would be helpful for you or not. It's got a generic equation, but nothing like the chart from New HIT that actually predicts your ability to build muscle. Quote Level 32 Minifig Jedi Assassin Current Challenge | Battle Log | "Epic" Quest Previous Challenges: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 11.5, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34 "A man who wants to do something will find a way; a man who doesn't will find an excuse." -Stephan Dolley, Jr. "You don't get stronger by skipping workouts." - me, to myself, about 3 times a week Link to comment
tenaciousglee Posted January 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2015 Week 1 Wrap Lift - 3/3Eat - 7/7 drinking my weight gain shakeMug Shots - 12 done = good progress! I'm thinking if I finish them all up early enough, I can start doing some analysis on what was working and what wasn't. Assuming I actually see visible differences. Not much yet.Music - got in at least an hour this week. Didn't play every day as I had planned, but that's okay, I still put in the time. 1 Quote Level 32 Minifig Jedi Assassin Current Challenge | Battle Log | "Epic" Quest Previous Challenges: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 11.5, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34 "A man who wants to do something will find a way; a man who doesn't will find an excuse." -Stephan Dolley, Jr. "You don't get stronger by skipping workouts." - me, to myself, about 3 times a week Link to comment
Librarian of Doom Posted January 13, 2015 Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 Good work on Week 1! Very interesting article. I'm at a point right now where I'm prioritizing gains above aesthetics...I want to drop body fat, but not enough muscle mass that I lose significant amounts of strength. I have a lot of body fat to lose, but right now strength is the only area in which I'm not a complete wuss, so I'm clinging frantically to it. Quote Hobbit Ranger seeking balance (and cookies) Current Challenge Link to comment
Phayze Posted January 13, 2015 Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 Awesome week, T! I need to make some time to explore those links if yours. Sounds like interesting stuff. Quote Level 0 Air Nomad Assassin STR: 0 STA: 0 DEX: 0 CON: 0 WIS: 0 CHA: 0 Current Challenge: [Url= http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/80570-phayze-accepts-an-apprenticeship-as-an-airbender-respawn/]Apprentice Airbender![/url] Check Out My LEGO Stuff on Flickr! "The next golden age of human achievement begins here and now" -Neil Degrasse Tyson, Cosmos Link to comment
tenaciousglee Posted January 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 Good work on Week 1! Very interesting article. I'm at a point right now where I'm prioritizing gains above aesthetics...I want to drop body fat, but not enough muscle mass that I lose significant amounts of strength. I have a lot of body fat to lose, but right now strength is the only area in which I'm not a complete wuss, so I'm clinging frantically to it. Yay for frantic clinging! Nothing wrong with recognizing where your strengths lie (literally) and focusing your efforts there. Unless you're Phayze and you're always looking to round out those RPG attributes... Awesome week, T! I need to make some time to explore those links if yours. Sounds like interesting stuff. You know me and my links. Definitely check them out, but more for general knowledge than specific goal-setting. I mean the one on aesthetics is called the "Adonis Index" for crying out loud. Brad Pilon is much closer to Adonis level than I'll ever be. On another note, today is my daughter's 6th birthday and she wants breakfast for dinner. For her that means a near unending supply of pancakes. For me that means bacon and eggs! 1 Quote Level 32 Minifig Jedi Assassin Current Challenge | Battle Log | "Epic" Quest Previous Challenges: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 11.5, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34 "A man who wants to do something will find a way; a man who doesn't will find an excuse." -Stephan Dolley, Jr. "You don't get stronger by skipping workouts." - me, to myself, about 3 times a week Link to comment
QuirkyDM Posted January 13, 2015 Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 Breakfast for dinner is awesome. We're having pancake week here. My wife is teaching a health/math unit and this week was about trying out healthy pancake recipes. On Sunday we had whole wheat banana pancakes (which turned out to be more of a nutmeg pancake) and beet pancakes for breakfast and Paleo power waffles for supper. And there's lots of leftovers for the whole week. Quote Quirky DM My Battle Log: QuirkyDM going Quazy "Success is simply a matter of luck. Ask any failure." Link to comment
Phayze Posted January 13, 2015 Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 Okay, you guys are making me hungry... Can't say that I'm all that interested in reaching Adonis caliber, but you know how much I love adding to my underpants collection. Yay for frantic clinging! Nothing wrong with recognizing where your strengths lie (literally) and focusing your efforts there. Unless you're Phayze and you're always looking to round out those RPG attributes...Versatility is my strength! ^^ Quote Level 0 Air Nomad Assassin STR: 0 STA: 0 DEX: 0 CON: 0 WIS: 0 CHA: 0 Current Challenge: [Url= http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/80570-phayze-accepts-an-apprenticeship-as-an-airbender-respawn/]Apprentice Airbender![/url] Check Out My LEGO Stuff on Flickr! "The next golden age of human achievement begins here and now" -Neil Degrasse Tyson, Cosmos Link to comment
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