With a goal of 180 lbs. by spring time I have now reached a steady 174 lbs. for now. It has taken eating 3,700 calories per day consistently for the last 4-5 weeks but it worked. I am planning on maintaining the calorie intake through the end of the month before I decide to make another adjustment. With that I still have been able to keep the body fat percentage to under 15 which I am pleased with. If I can control that it should make it easy to lean in the spring which should be everyone's goal. I will update on the progress of this goal by the end of the month.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Keys to My Sucess
Intensity and working the muscles to failure. I have figured out for us ectomorphs that you really need to task the muscle for gains. The Tabata method has truly given me gains that are very noticeable. Experts say that an ectomorphs muscles are built for endurance, hence they can withstand longer periods of abuse than other body types. Even though I do not practice the Tabata method of up to 20 seconds of rest between sets I rest enough between so that I can complete 8 sets of 8 reps with the desired weight. Now that the weight of my exercises are heavy it may take me 15 - 20 minutes to complete an exercise but it really has fatigued the muscles and the gains are showing. I also stick with basic compound movements as well as suggested.
Even though I rotate a heavy cycle every couple of weeks consisting of 3 sets of 3 reps I believe that the Tabata method is making the difference in my physique. I wont do without it now, I am convinced. If you haven't tried Tabata I suggest that you do so. You have not tasked the body in a way that this routine does both mentally and physically.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Rope Jumping
I have incorporated rope jumping back into my routine starting today. This technique is one of my favorite exercises for cardiovascular training. It is one that is very challenging and you quickly get a respect for the kids in the neighborhood that do it so easily. If you have never tried it I highly recommend it. The other benefit is you can do it anywhere and it is relatively cheap to buy the equipment needed. I have attached a link for some useful tips... happy jumping.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Nutritional Goals
Over the last few years I have adopted the practice of setting short term goals in my fitness life in regards to nutrition. Yes, I am like many others want to see my physical shape change at the speed of light but it takes TIME, plenty of it. My nutritional diet today, to maintain 10 % - 12% body fat year round, has taken over 5 years to develop. I just didn't wake up one day and say I was changing everything I eat today but I took it one step at a time. I tried no fad diets because I do not believe in them. I set monthly goals early on, i.e. this month I will no longer order french fries when eating out, and gradually I added a couple items per month so that I could adjust easily to a new eating lifestyle. Yes, I could have change at a more rapid pace than on that took 5 years to accomplish but looking back it was right for me and in the end I did it.
Bottom line, this is just a small piece of taking control of your diet but you have to know what you need to eat in calories per day? What is the macronutrient ratios of what you are eating? Once you have a baseline knowing what to adjust will be more clear.
Have a great day.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Monday, November 2, 2009
Results
I managed to get an average of 233 grams of protein per day over the last 2 weeks towards my goal of 255. I also averaged 8 hours of sleep per night. So far I haven't seen any noticeable improvements but it may be too early to tell. I will stay on pace and check in a couple of weeks. I plan on taking body measurements tomorrow so that may give me a true perspective on my gains.
Have a great week.
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