Tag Archives: planning

Day 34: The questions that remain

Day 34

Day 34
(See the gallery for more photos.)

Weight: 129.4 lbs.
Workout A: 21 minutes, 51 seconds. Next: Workout B on Oct. 10.
Total inches: 120.1
Protein: 153 g (31 g over target)
Calories: 2,247
See more measurements.

Entering month 2, the road ahead is easier to see.

Five workouts, instead of nine. No need to increase the recovery time, as 5 days is the maximum time required.
Steady on with eating. Weight has gone up fairly steadily, even with the regular up-down cycling.
Five or six posts, nothing back-breaking.
Daily photos and measurements.
Similar menu and grocery shopping.
Maybe, big maybe, some yoga or walking.

What remains uncertain is how much and how fast. I gained 3 pounds in 30 days, with nine workouts in 3 hours, 42 minutes. Let’s say the five workouts this month run about 20 minutes each, so 1 hour and 40 minutes. “The 4-Hour Body” [Amazon | iTunes aff. links] says this is plenty, as muscle growth takes time and protein.

So this 31-day period should tell me plenty about my muscle growth rate and how it affects my upper body. We saw in the first month some reduction in “love handles” and some fleshing out of my chest. I’d love to see some growth in the arms, but I bet I might need to switch to an all-kettlebell routine in month 3 or 4.

The questions I need to answer: What does success look like? Will I know it when I see it? Is it a number on the scale or on the tape measure?

Will I need to switch to a different routine to sculpt the arms or abs? How far do I want to take this?

The original goal was to see what changed, if anything, after 30 days. Now I need to set a new goal.

For now, the goal is: Let’s see how I look on Halloween.

Stud or freak, toned test subject or fitness zombie?

Day 31: More of me to love

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Day 31

Weight: 127.6 lbs.
No workout today; next: Workout A on Oct. 4
Total inches: 120.0
Protein: 143 g (21 g over target)
Calories: 2,523

I haven’t read “Moneyball.” I haven’t seen “Moneyball.” But I bet I would enjoy “Moneyball.” [all aff. links]

Rather than bore you with baseball statistics, I’d prefer to bore you with my physiological statistics.

weight Oct. 1, 2012

Weight through Oct. 1

Measurement	Sept. 1	Oct. 1	Change
Weight (pounds)	121.8	127.6*	+5.8
Body fat percentage	23.5	24.5**	+1 percentage point
Fat weight	28.6	31.3	+2.7
Lean weight	93.2	96.3	+3.1
Total inches	113.6***	120.0	+6.4

That’s not bad: 3.1 pounds of muscle in 30 days! Will muscle growth accelerate, slow or remain steady in the next 30 days?

*The Lakeshore scale said 127.0 pounds, but I’m using my own scale for consistency.

**In the Poor range for my age group/gender, but Excellent if I were a 67-year-old woman.

***I was terrible at measuring my legs for the first few days, till I found a way to standardize it. So take that early number as probably too low because of my errors.

Exercise	Sept. 1	Oct. 1	Change
Yates row	7 x 55 lbs.	7 x 85 lbs.	+54.5 percent
Barbell overhead press	7 x 30 lbs.	4.3 x 50 lbs.	+66.7 percent
Slight incline bench press	3.2 x 30 lbs.	4.2 x 50 lbs.	+66.7 percent
Squat	10 x 45 lbs.	10 x 65 lbs.	+44.4 percent
Kettlebell swing	32 x 20 lbs.	50 x 30 lbs.	+50.0 percent

That’s an overall increase of 55.6 percent in pounds lifted with a total workout time of 3 hours, 42 minutes.

The project has cost me $216.63 so far. What surprised me here was a $41.55 savings in the average monthly food bill (both groceries and dining out).

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

My plan for October: Do a workout every 6 days. Eat a lot. Take a daily photo. And post on workout days, so expect five or six more updates this month.

The numbers are encouraging, and I am growing, inside and out.

Day 30: It’s what’s inside that counts

Day 24: The future, by which I mean October

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Day 24

Weight: 126.0 lbs.
No workout today
Total inches: 118.5
Protein: 147 g (27 g over target)
Calories: 3,165

I looked only 30 days into the future.

The spreadsheet was set through Sept. 30. I asked for a 30-day loan on the blender. I figured and hoped 30 days might be enough.

On Day 24, I know it won’t happen by then.

So keep going or stop? I say keep going.

After integrating the workouts, the measurements and the eating into my routine, extending through October won’t be a big deal.

I can’t say for sure I’ve made significant progress. The clearest indicator is that I can lift more than I could at the start, which isn’t bad for about 3 hours and 45 minutes of workouts.

But the photos, the weight, the total inches tell a more muddled tale. This is the part when I get impatient and want to fast-forward to the end, so I know if the next 31 days are a wise investment or a foolish waste of time.

Perhaps the better perspective would be that the experience continues, the journey not the destination, learn by doing. There, I think I crammed enough cliches in that sentence.

As a time-saver, I will likely blog less and publish on workout days only. Each post will have the latest data and photos for the period to maintain public accountability. (This is one of the few projects where I can’t prep everything in advance since it requires daily measurements and analysis.)

Maybe by Halloween I’ll have a great new muscle-bound costume.

What doesn’t kill or confound me will make me stronger.