Weekly Review: September 25th
Phase: Fat loss
My body looks and feels different this week. I feel like I've got more muscle and less fat, and I feel fitter and stronger. My clothes fit better and I feel like my arms and shoulders are more defined.
I started training Abs this week. I need thick, strong abs.
What worked this week:
Eating lots of protein is working. I've got 8 different types and flavours of protein powder and that really helps with avoiding monotony. I start the day with a cold pressed coffee mixed with coffee flavoured protein powder, or vanilla chai, with an extra scoop of raw flavour. Then I have either Cola, Pineapple or Lemonade flavoured protein powder during the day, and then salted caramel with almond milk in the evening.
My go-to lunch is beef jerky. High protein, low carb.
I've drunk allot of Coke No Sugar, but its not the best for sleep, and so that is a real negative.
Using Macrofactor religiously to capture every calorie worked well. My weight came down .5kgs.
Knowing my body uses 2000 calories a day, and I need to hit 1300 calories to have a deficit that results in weight loss is really useful information. I'm looking forward to hitting my body fat goal, then switching to maintenance for the education and retraining. I think the next 300 days might be maintenance, but it might be 100 days of maintenance, then 200 days of lean bulk.
Protein shakes in the morning, with a double dose of protein seems to reduce hunger for longer, but on weekends I know I'm going to want to eat more regularly, so only one scoop on weekend breakfast shakes, so I can have a second one soon after.
Working helps me keep calories low, because it means I am too busy to eat!
Workouts
The once a week cardio and compound weights is working. Cardio on Saturday. Compound weights on Sunday. Then Monday to Friday, 21 minute workouts, 7x 3min sets of an accessory exercise are working: biceps, shoulders, abs. I've done flexibility a few times, but it needs to be a regular exercise as well. 21 minutes works, because my first alarm is 4:45, then I don't quite get into the gym until 5, and stuff around for a while with speakers and music, and then finish working out, having protein shake and journalling by 5:30-5:40 ish, then usually a rush to work.
I realised my once a week workout is like a double length Stronglifts 5x5. The difference is Stronglifts has progression built in, and is three times the volume per week. Two additional workouts. My squat is weak because of my lower back. Using a program that builds in progression, and hence builds a strong squat is probably good for my overall strength. The question is whether I should change. At the moment, my workouts are working. Do I workout abit longer two days of the week, and less on Sunday, if I plan a Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday regimen, and potentially have a stronger squat (and lower back), stronger Bench, Row and Deadlift?
I'm doing those exercises and volume anyway, but only once a week. Its really about the time, because the program seems to make sense to me, and a variation of it is working for me at the moment. 21 minutes is working. Can I increase it to 30?
I'd need to be in the gym, with music on, and hitting the first warmup just before 5. Currently, alarm goes off, I snooze it, then climb out of bed, sit on the loo with my phone, then weigh myself, then change and walk down to the gym. If I drop the "sit on the loo" habit I'd roll into the gym slightly earlier. I'm going to spend bathroom time after my workout anyway, so I can do the sit on the loo only once in the morning.
Keeping my singlets in the same place, and my workout shorts in the same place, or in fact, not even needing a singlet to workout would make fewer steps between bed and first set.
Monday: Biceps, Abs
Tuesday: Stronglifts
Wednesday: Shoulders, Abs
Thursday: Stronglifts
Friday: Flexibility
Saturday: HIIT
Sunday: Stronglifts
I did a Stronglifts workout today with Abs at the end, and it took 35 minutes. If I did Abs on Biceps and Shoulders days, each workout would average out to be 30 minutes. I do better doing the same thing everyday, so that would work. My current accessory workouts are 7 sets of 3 minutes. If I add in three sets of abs at the end, it takes it to 10 sets of 3 minutes, which is 30 minutes.
Be in gym at 4:55 putting speaker and music on, and hitting first warm up at 5:00, finishing at 5:30
I'm going to continue recording in my bullet journal. Forgetting to bring it down and then having to go back upstairs to get it is a waste of time. Phone and journal. Phone and journal.
What is not working:
I eat too much on weekends. I can almost undo my M-F calorie deficit on the weekends without thinking. I need a strategy to manage this. I wonder if chewing gum will help?
Plan:
This week we are away for 4 nights. Going to workout before we leave, then when we get home, so that leaves 3 hotel workouts. Going to eat protein shakes x 4, then eat dinner, and stay alcohol free. Hopefully that keeps my calories down to less than 1300. I wonder if I should continue to record my calories while on holidays?