Tag Archives: workout

Day 329: Now with 33 percent less exercise

Day 329 - front

Weight: 139.0 lbs.
Workout C: 26 minutes, 50 seconds; next: Workout C, July 29
Total inches: 124.5
Protein: 185g (54g over target)
Calories: 2,351

For the first time in nearly 11 months, I missed a workout.

The streak is dead.

I knew it was likely to happen this week, the busiest week for me this year. I was in the throes of putting on a business conference, so I knew something would likely give. Even now late at night, I’m trying to catch up on protein and calories missed earlier in the week.

That isn’t to say I didn’t get exercise running around a convention facility keeping things moving along, but clearly it’s not the same.

Usually, my schedule is flexible enough to allow a day or two of leeway in working out. But I had to let this one go, with just having two workouts this week instead of the usual three.

Fortunately, I was able to slip right back into my routine. I could make up for a missed workout, but that defeats the purpose of doing the minimum. I can however eat my way back to 140 pounds.

At least I made it almost a year in my workout schedule.

Day 329 - side

Day 295: Building a man of steel

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Day 295 - front

Day 295 – front

Weight: 138.2 lbs.
Workout C: 30 minutes, 19 seconds; next: Workout C, June 24
Total inches: 125.2
Protein: 133g (3g over target)
Calories: 2,099

Henry Cavill, Man of Steel

Henry Cavill works out at Gym Jones, adding muscle to
become Superman in “Man of Steel.”

No padding.

When Henry Cavill was cast as Superman for the movie “Man of Steel,” director Zack Snyder, among others, wanted him to fill out the costume naturally.

Cavill did what any actor would do: Work out like crazy, 2.5 hours a day for 3 months, plus 5,000 calories a day. And later, getting lean by cutting to 2,500 calories a day.

I watched the movie today, which goes out of its way to show his shirtless physique. It’s impressive, as Ginny noted in that it made up for any and all flaws in the plot, the writing, the casting, etc.

Bulking up was his job. He will transform again for his next role, and the next one. Of course, he’ll likely revisit Gym Jones in Utah for the “Man of Steel” sequel.

Bulking up isn’t my job. But it might be fun to try at that intensity for 3 months.

If only for the flattering pics …

Video: Henry Cavill prepares for “Man of Steel” in the gym.

Day 294 - side

Day 294 – side

Day 224: Close call

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Day 24 - front

Weight: 137.8 lbs.
Workout C: 29 minutes, 44 seconds; next: Workout C, April 15
Total inches: 124.6
Protein: 134 g (4 g over target)
Calories: 2,299

Kettlebell swings can be dangerous. When done by an amateur. Like me.

I use a homemade T-handle, as described in “The 4-Hour Body” [Amazon | iTunes aff. links]. Author Tim Ferriss suggests making a new one every 6 months as they wear out and you don’t want to send a weight plate through a window.

Do I listen? No.

In nearing the end of my one-arm kettlebell swings during today’s workout, I nearly sent myself to the emergency room. The floor flange had become loose and bang! the two 15-pound plates crash on the floor.

Even this instruction set on making a T-handle warns: “Given how this device is to be used (repeatedly heaving it into the air), I recommend using a wrench to really tighten that floor flange.”

One plate had a small crack in its plastic casing, warping the inner ring. It’s a much tighter squeeze to put it on a barbell or a dumbbell, but fortunately still fits.

Even more fortunate, the crash didn’t break the floor or my feet. Whew.

Several readers have recommended places to shop for plates to add to my collection. I almost needed to add another 15-pound disk to the list as a replacement.

And the worst part: I think I would have completed the 25 reps for my right arm had my T-handle remained intact. No gain, but also, no pain.

Day 224 - side

Day 218: I’ve reached my limit!

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Day 218 - front

Day 218 – front

Weight: 137.8 lbs.
No workout today; next: Workout C, April 8
Total inches: 124.4
Protein: 121 g (9 g under target)
Calories: 2,717

I’m stuck!

It’s a good kind of stuck. For my Yates row reps, I have completed the required reps at 135 pounds. The next stage is 150 pounds, but I don’t have large enough weight plates to move on.

Every big weight I can fit on the barbell is on there. I could strap on an extra 10 pounds (four 2.5-lb. plates), but it’s still not enough.

I’ve looked on Craigslist and found several barbell and dumbbell sets available for purchase at fairly low prices.

Perhaps the only way to continue is to not only bulk up my muscles and my eating, but my collection of home gym equipment, too.

Or, if you wish to donate your unused plates to my cause, they will be cheerfully accepted. (Please, no 2.5-lb. plates.)

Day 217 - side

Day 217 – side

Day 168: Less is … the same

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Day 168 - front

Day 168 – front

Weight: 137.0 lbs.
Workout C: 26 minutes, 19 seconds; next: Workout C, Feb. 18
Total inches: 124.0
Protein: 134 g (5 g over target)
Calories: 2,322

One of the keys to Project Bulk is frequency and duration of workouts. Author Tim Ferriss refers to this as Minimum Effective Dose in “The 4-Hour Body” [Amazon |iTunes aff. links].

I lift weights about an hour and 13 minutes a week total, split over Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays. For the month, that’s about 5 hours.

I could exercise more, but the challenge is to build muscles with as little effort and time as possible. I could exercise less, which is what I did in October and November using different exercises. Those months resulted in higher body fat compared to muscle gain than I preferred.

Researchers at nearby University of Alabama at Birmingham studied exercise dosage with 72 women age 60 to 74. Split into three groups, they exercised by weightlifting and either jogging or cycling for 4 months. Group A did one of each a week, or two workouts; group B did two of each, or four workouts; and group C did three of each, or six workouts.

“The women working out twice a week had become as powerful and aerobically fit as those who had worked out six times a week.”

The study appears in this month’s Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.

As you exercise to gain strength and endurance, to tone your body or to lose weight, you should ask yourself what the right dosage of exercise is. Can you gain more with less?

Day 168 - side

Day 168 – side

Day 147: Off-days

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Day 147 - front

Weight: 137.0 lbs.
Workout C: 8 minutes, 43 seconds; next: Workout C, Jan. 28
Total inches: 124.5
Protein: 136 g (7 g over target)
Calories: 2,311

This month is a typical month. “Typical” meaning January is like December, the only 2 months of the kettlebell-heavy routine.

I work out three times a week, about 13 times a month, for about 16 minutes each time or three-and-a-half hours total in a month. But what do I do on the 17 or 18 days off?

Ideally, walk or do yoga. In reality, very little of either.

I have made Project Bulk a priority, sticking rigidly to exercise schedules. And while I maintain my photos and diet every day, I have not made too much effort to move otherwise.

I am consumed by project work, which leaves me little time to walk the neighborhood or pop in the yoga DVD. Or, at least, it’s a good enough excuse.

Originally, I didn’t want to skew the numbers with additional exercise, but I feel confident that the current workouts are, well, working out. So walking would just be for fun and fresh air, with a few calories burned to boot. Yoga would be to help with breathing, flexibility and focus.

Late at night, I am content to slow down, settle in, not move. As long as I swing the kettlebell 150 times a week, I’m set.

Day 147 - side

Day 99: For whom the kettlebell tolls

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Day 99

Weight: 133.2 lbs.
No workout today; next: Workout C, Dec. 10
Total inches: 121.9
Protein: 128 g (2 g over target)
Calories: 2,207

I wanted to change up my workout routine for December. It felt like I hit a plateau with Workouts A and B.

Reading through “The 4-Hour Body” [Amazon | iTunes aff. links] again, I found three options. The first was to focus on kettlebell swings (page 162). This was my original direction, but I saw more choices.

The second was “From Geek to Freak,” a series of 10 exercises, most using gym equipment (page 187). I looked for home options for each one, but decided it was too complicated for me right now.

The third was to split into pushing, pulling and leg exercises (page 221). Again, it was too complicated in tracking the days between workouts.

So I followed through on my original choice: kettlebell swings on Mondays and Fridays (Workout C), with barbell and dumbbell work on Wednesdays (Workout D).

I’m looking for more rapid development throughout the month on my arms, waist and hips. I’m also shooting for a lower body fat percentage by year’s end.

My total workout time (which I’ve forgotten to include in my monthly reports) for December will exceed October and November combined. But it won’t be much, about 4 hours total.

I’ve also done some walking around the neighborhood, which I’m tracking through the Runkeeper app. It’s fun to see the miles traveled and the calories burned.

One hundred days in, and the changes continue.

Day 76: Steady on

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Day 76

Weight: 132.0 lbs.
Workout B: 18 minutes, 29 seconds; next: Workout A on Nov. 21
Total inches: 122.0
Protein: 132 g (7 g over target)
Calories: 2,026

The first half of November has been very steady. Too steady.

calories 11-15

Calories through Nov. 15

Maintaining 2,000 calories a day (down from 2,500) has kept me at between 132 and 134 pounds. No significant gain, similar to the first 2 weeks when I didn’t track calories. (Protein intake has remained the same throughout all of Project Bulk.)

weight 11-15

Weight through Nov. 15

Naturally, my growth in total inches (arms, legs, waist, hips) has also flattened.

total inches 11-15

Total inches through Nov. 15

Starting tomorrow through the end of November, I am bumping slightly to 2,100 calories a day. I’d rather have slow gain with more muscles than fast gain with excess fat.

The workouts have been fairly static, with no dramatic improvements. I seem to be stuck on a couple of the lifts. One way I’ve beaten the lack of progress is switching the order of the exercises, so I can at least try every other attempt.

I’m probably going to switch to kettlebell swings twice a week in December, just to see if it’ll bulk up my arms faster, which have grown about 0.6 inches each since Day 1.

Even after two-and-a-half months, I own the routine. The routine doesn’t own me.

Day 52: Yogi barely

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Day 52

Day 52
(See the gallery for more photos.)

Weight: 133.6 lbs.
Workout B: 17 minutes, 15 seconds. Next: Workout A on Oct. 28.
Total inches: 122.0
Protein: 133 g (8 g over target)
Calories: 2,514
See more measurements.

I have focused on my new workouts for the last 2 months, but I’ve been itching to walk or to practice yoga.

I have held back because I didn’t want to cloud the results with other exercise. I took up yoga earlier this year, and walking/running on a treadmill was my primary form of exercise for many years.

Plus, I wanted to be lazy.

Still, the temptation of yoga was too much. I have a couple of instructional DVDs I’ve never played, and I have episodes of “Wai Lana Yoga” [Amazon | iTunes aff. links] stacked up in my TiVo. Options coming out of my satsang.

A few minutes on the mat made me realize how out of shape I really am.

No matter how much I improve in lifting in free weights, yoga can humble me in one pose. I am reminded of how little range of motion my legs have, or how far I have to go in bending and stretching and balancing.

But yoga isn’t simply an exercise in humility for me. It gives me peace on a noisy day. It helps me to focus and work on being in the moment. It centers me.

Pumping iron does, too. Yoga lets me tune in to my body in a different way. And, I don’t think it will cloud the results when it comes to burning calories or developing and toning muscles.

Especially when I end up nearly heaving on my mat.

Day 29: Tick tock

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Day 29

Weight: 127.4 lbs.
No workout today
Total inches: 119.0
Protein: 145 g (23 g over target)
Calories: 2,581

I’m as serious as a metronome about my workouts.

Because many of my exercises involve 5/5, 5 seconds up and 5 seconds down, I’d prefer precision over guessing. It’s hard enough keeping the rep count; that’s right, I lose track just counting to 7.

So I use my phone as a metronome. I play a ticking clock MP3 on a loop. My entire workout sounds like being inside a mechanical clock.

Audio: Ticking clock

The sound is a familiar one from my childhood. I started taking piano lessons when I was 7, and a mechanical metronome accompanied my daily practice. But instead of struggling to keep up in tempo with a Bach suite, I sweat it out while trying to lift, breathe and count all at once.

The march of time, the pace of my workouts grow ever louder.