Body Sculpting – Week 41

Last week I said I would do the following:

1. Read more of “The 4-Hour Body”
2. Do one of two love handles workouts from Kozak Sports Perform 2-3 days after core workout
3. Do full body workout before & after meals

Well I think I’ve read all desired sections of “The 4-Hour Body”, which basically includes the following:

• how to maximize weight loss/muscle gain
• how to improve quality of sleep

There’s a lot of information to process, and some of it is a bit unorthodox (i.e., no fruit in his prescribed, “The Slow-Carb Diet”, a plethora of supplements).  But Ferriss does a great job at reassuring the reader that, yes, some of these tips/ideas may sound bizarre, but Ferriss follows up with supporting evidence and explanations (lots of in-depth explanations for those who really want to know the science behind his gospel).

Here are the most useful tips I gleaned from “The 4-Hour Body”:

• Doing full body strength training exercises (pullup, pushup, air squat) right before eating (to better channel calories to muscle instead of fat) and about 90 minutes after eating
• Replacing white carbs (bread, rice, pasta) with beans
• One binge day per week (to offset metabolism)
• Kettlebell swing (for fat loss/muscle gain)
• Myotatic crunch (for more defined abs) 2X/ week
• Cat vomit exercise (for more defined abs) 2X/week
• Philips goLITE (for better quality sleep)
• Nightwave Pulse Light (for better quality sleep)
• Before breakfast, 3X/week:

1 set: 20 2-legged glute activation raises from floor

1 set: 15 flying dogs, one set each side

1 set: 50 kettlebell swings (start with weight of no less than 20 lbs)

Below, I’ll go into more detail on each of the above areas:

I have already replaced a lot of my carbs with beans, and they have proven to fill me up very sufficiently.  I probably need more fiber & protein in my diet anyways, so I’ll most likely stick with this change to my diet.

Remembering to exercise BEFORE eating has proven to be tricky, as I’m usually raring to eat before every meal.  But like any habit, it just takes practice, and I’m getting better at remembering every day.  Like I said in a previous post, I think this habit will coincide nicely with my goal of doing a full-body exercise once a day.  I had been wondering how to break up the reps throughout the day, and this book gave me a pretty great suggestion.

Binge day sounds like an awesome idea, though I still do eat some carbs throughout the week, so I probably won’t go overboard on carbs on binge days.  But the concept of offsetting your metabolism sounds fairly logical, so I will toy around with this.

I’ve been wanting to get a kettlebell for a while now, so this book just strengthened my resolve to get one.  However, I never would’ve started out with a 20-lbs kettlebell, so I’m glad this book recommended I get a 20-lbs one.

I’m excited to start doing those two ab exercises (myotatic crunch & cat vomit), as I can’t tell you how frustrating it has been to see that extra bit of tummy fat everyday.

I had thought about using the Philips goLITE, or some variation of a light therapy appliance, but again, Ferriss’s explanations just strengthened my desire to actually buy one.  Along with the Nightwave Pulse Light, I’m excited to start falling asleep and waking up easily, and feeling refreshed.

And I’m glad I decided to write a post today, because I nearly forgot about doing one of those love handles workouts from Kozak Sports Perform, hehe.  I will do that in about an hour, after I have digested my dinner.

Next week:

1. Do one of two love handles workouts from Kozak Sports Perform 2-3 days after core workout
2. Do full body workout before & after meals
3. Continually be on the lookout for a 20-lbs kettlebell
4. Replace white carbs with beans
5. Do myotatic crunch & cat vomit exercise 2X/week
6. Add the following routine before breakfast, 3X/week:

1 set: 20 2-legged glute activation raises from floor

1 set: 15 flying dogs, one set each side

1 set: 50 kettlebell swings (start with weight of no less than 20 lbs)

By July, I will have six-pack abs!!!

 

Body Sculpting – Week 36

Last week I said I would do the following:

1. Look into doing another physical challenge
2. Continue reading “Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle”
3. Eat at least 5 small-portioned meals everyday

Well, I do not do very well at eating 5 small meals when I’m at my boyfriend’s house on the weekends.  I think this is because I feel like I’m not spending quality time with him (meal time = social time), so I end up just going back to eating 3 large meals per day.  But, I do really well at eating 5 small meals when I’m at home!  Along the same lines, I think this is because I’m usually alone when I eat the majority of my meals.  Hmm, what’s the solution?  I think I’m going to bring a container of cooked steel-cut oatmeal with me to my boyfriend’s house this weekend, so I can at least eat a hearty breakfast and maintain some part of my regular meals.

I looked into other workouts and found this great YouTube page: Kozak Sports Perform.  I found this specific HIIT workout which I really enjoyed doing two days in a row now: “The Ultimate 10 Minute Cardio Workout At Home”.  They have some other really great workouts that I’m looking forward to trying out.  Two things I really love about their vids:

1. Their sporadic motivational phrases (“The exhaustion is all in your mind!”, “Remember your motivator!”, “Think of how happy you’ll be once you have a 6-pack!”)
2. The dubstep music – it really hypes me up

I’m also going to do 2-3 full body workouts throughout the day.  When I had a job, I would do 3 sets of a full body workout during breaks (i.e., handstand pushups, pushups, dips, lunges, planks, etc), on average 3 times during the day.  But after reading John Sifferman’s blog post about “My Top 5 Favorite Pullup & Chinup Workouts”, I’m going to use the same 5 workouts for different full body exercises, to see if that will produce better results (more muscle, faster weight loss).

Here is a list of some full body exercises I can do:

• Pushups
• Handstand pushups
• Dips
• Planks w/leg raises
• Pullups
• Deadlifts (if I have the barbell or free weights)
• Lunges
• Burpees
• Leg lifts
• Air jacks
• Lunge + curl w/dumbbells
• Bent over rows
• Dumbbell posterior swing

If you guys can think of other full body exercises that you enjoy, please share!

I haven’t read more of “Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle”, but I DID check out the book “The 4-Hour Body”, by Timothy Ferriss, thanks to Noel’s recommendation; thanks, Noel!

I’m a little skeptical of this book, since Ferriss’s other famous book, “The 4-Hour Work Week”, received mixed reviews.  But glean as much as you can from anything, I say, so I’ll skim through it and glean as much as I can.  It’s a pretty big book though, so we’ll see how fast I can skim it!

Next week:

1. Read half of “The 4-Hour Work Week”
2. Read more of “Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle”
3. Try out and monitor results of different workouts from Kozak Sports Perform
4. Continue experimenting with 5 small meals per day

 

 

Body Sculpting – Week 35

Last week I said I would do the following:

1. Continue reading “Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle”
2. Eat at least 5 small-portioned meals everyday

Woo-hoo!  Been reading more of “Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle”!  Current thing I’m learning is that eating 5 small meals throughout the day doesn’t have much of a fat-burning effect, unless each meal consists of the following:

• Lean protein
• Complex carbohydrate

Good to know.  I’ve been including almonds in my morning/afternoon meals, to ensure I at least am eating protein.

I’ve been entertaining the idea of starting a new physical challenge, like the “How to Rapidly Increase Your Pullup Numbers in 3 months or Less“. Will look into that this week.

Next week:

1. Look into doing another physical challenge
2. Continue reading “Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle”
3. Eat at least 5 small-portioned meals everyday

 

Body Sculpting – Week 25

Last week I said I would do the following:

1. Start third week of Month Two of pullup regimen
2. Continue reading “Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle”
3. Continue reading affirmations twice a day, with belief and visualization

My progress with the pullup regimen:

1/22 – 3 pullups

11/23 – 5 pullups

11/24 – 7 pullups

11/25 – X

11/26 – X

11/27 – X

11/28 – X

11/29 – 8 pullups

11/30 – 9 pullups

12/1 – X

12/2 – 7 pullups

12/3 – X

12/4 – X

12/5 – 8 pullups

12/6 – 10 pullups

12/7 – 11 pullups

12/8 – pullup bar broken

12/9 – pullup bar broken

12/10 – pullup bar broken

12/11 – pullup bar broken

12/12 – pullup bar broken

12/13 – 12 pullups

12/14 – 13 pullups

12/15 – 14 pullups

12/16 – 14 pullups

12/17 – X

12/18 – X

12/19 – 15 pullups

12/20 – 16 pullups

12/21 – X

12/22 – 15 pullups

12/23 – 10 pullups

12/24 – X

12/25 – X

12/26 – X

12/27 – (Started Month Two) Double-Step Pyramid Training. Max =10 pullups; Total = 50 pullups

12/28 – X

12/29 – X

12/30 – Month Two; Day 2. Low-Rep, High Intensity training. 2 pullups, 7 sets; Total = 14

12/31 – X

1/1 – X

1/2 – X

1/3 – X

1/4 – Month Two; Day 3. Single-Step Pyramid training. Max = 10; Total = 50

1/5 – X

1/6 – Month Two; Day 4. Moderate-Rep, High Intensity training. 3 pullups, 6 sets; Total = 18

1/7 – X

1/8 – X

1/9 – X

1/10 -X

1/11 – Month Two; Day 5. Max = 16 pullups. Double Step Pyramid training. Could only do up to 10 (50 total)

1/12 – X

1/13 – Month Two; Day 6. Low-Rep, High Intensity training. 2 pullups, 8 sets; Total = 16

1/14 -X

1/15 -X

1/16 – X

1/17 – Month Two; Day 7. Single-Step Pyramid training. Max = 10; Total = 50

On a side note, I’m noticing that I’m getting fatigued/out of breath a lot faster lately.  I’m thinking it’s because of new muscle.  But not sure.  For example, I used to be able to do at least four 4-min tabata routines; now I can only do three.  I’m still getting out of breath and sweaty, so I know I’m getting a good workout, but it still feels weird to be doing less than what I’m used to doing.  Will moniter the situation.

The single-step & double-step pyramid training takes about 2 hours, since I have to rest a lot when I have to do more than 6 pullups in one set.  I can only do 6 pullups in a set, and then I have to rest a bit in order to finish any set that involves more than 6 pullups.  Not sure if I’m doing this correctly, but my max number of pullups is definitely increasing, so that’s good.

Been really frustrated with how my body looks lately, as it seems to fluctuate between fat & muscle, particularly in my core.  I’m thinking this is due to my portions still being too large.  Coincidentally, the chapter I’m reading from “Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle” is now talking about the importance of counting calories.  The thought really annoys me, since it sounds like a lot of math, but the author, Venuto, says there is an easy way to do this.  In the meantime, I’ve decided to just be more diligent about my portions and when I eat them.

Next week:

1. Start fourth week of Month Two of pullup regimen
2. Continue reading “Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle”
3. Continue reading affirmations twice a day, with belief and visualization