Tag Archives: leveling off

Day 91: 3 months in

Day 91

  • Weight: 132.4 lbs.
  • No workout today; next: new workout on Dec. 3
  • Total inches: 121.3
  • Protein: 126 g (1 g over target)
  • Calories: 2,103

November has been even steven: My workouts were flat. My calories were flat. Everything was flat.

I can fix this.

weight 11-30-12

Weight through Nov. 30

As you can see, my rapid weight gain leveled off, never straying too far from 132 pounds this past month.

Measurement Sept. 1 Nov. 30 Change
Weight (pounds) 121.8 132.4 +10.6
Body fat percentage 23.5 26.8* +3.3 percentage pts.
Fat weight 28.6 35.5 +6.9
Lean weight 93.2 96.9 +3.7
Total inches 113.6** 121.3 +7.7

*Last measured Nov. 1.

**My measurements starting out weren’t terribly consistent.

Some of my gains in September and October were erased in November. I had a really challenging time making progress in the workouts.

Exercise Sept. 1 Nov. 30 Change
Yates row 7 x 55 lbs. 4.4 x 115 lbs. +109.1 percent
Barbell overhead press 7 x 30 lbs. 5.3 x 50 lbs. +66.7 percent
Myotatic crunch 6.5 x 2.5 lbs.* 4.5 x 5 lbs. +100.0 percent
Slight incline bench press 3.2 x 30 lbs. 0 x 60 lbs. +100.0 percent
Squat 10 x 45 lbs. 10 x 85 lbs. +88.9 percent
Kettlebell swing 32 x 20 lbs. 22 x 40 lbs. +100.0 percent

*I added weight to this exercise on Oct. 4.

The total workout time was almost identical these past 2 months: 84 minutes in October and 90 minutes in November. But I can see where my lifting has stalled out, even with adequate rest and recovery time.

total inches 11-30-12

Total inches through Nov. 30

calories 11-30-12

Calories consumed through Nov. 30

You can see a couple of factors at work. Total inches confirms that I haven’t gained or lost significantly in the last 30 days.

I adjusted calories dramatically, concerned over having gained too many pounds of fat vs. muscle.

In October, the target was 2,500 per day; actual average was 2,582. In November, the target was 2,050 per day (2,000 for the first half, 2,100 for the second half); actual average was 2,101. Protein intake has remained roughly the same all 91 days. Because I have not measured body fat percentage since Nov. 1, I can’t tell if it has changed, but I believe it has not gone up or down significantly.

The project has cost me $283.59 so far. (The cost dropped because my monthly food bill in November was lower than the 24-month average before starting all of this.)

You can see all the numbers updated in real time on the Measurements page.

I am making one small change and one big change for December.

The small change is moving up to 2,200 calories a day.

The big change is to switch to a new workout. I had been considering doing kettlebell swings and abdominal exercises on Mondays and Fridays, likely doubling my exercise time to about 3 hours total for December.

But in re-reading “The 4-Hour Body” [Amazon |iTunes aff. links] last night, a set of exercises in the chapter “From Geek to Freak” caught my eye. I’ll research them over the weekend and have a workout routine in place for Monday.

I’m looking forward to bulking up for real in December, closing out 2012 bigger than ever.

Day 91 - side

Day 91 – side

Day 1 vs. Day 91 - front

Day 1 vs. Day 91 – front
[Click image for a larger version.]

Day 1 vs. Day 91 - side

Day 1 vs. Day 91 – side
[Click image for a larger version.]