Build Me - An Ongoing Journey

Saturday 4/25/09
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Diet:
9:15am:
2 small-medium Apples
1 small Pear
2/3 bowl Cooked Rolled Oats
5 Egg Whites with Deli Ham (Mustard)
1:00pm:
1 Hamburger Bun [guts removed]
2 Vegetarian Burgers [high protein, low fat, low carb]
1 Cheddar Vegetarian Burger [medium protein, medium fat, medium carb]
2-3 Sun chips
8-10 Peanuts
10-15 Grilled Asparagus Spears [cooked with some oil]
Tomatoes and Onions
5:20pm:
1 bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber (Red Wine Vinegar, Balsamic Vinegar, a little Olive Oil)
1 bowl Beef Vegetable Soup [extra beef]
1 slice Whole Wheat Bread with Deli Turkey, Lettuce, Tomato (Mustard)

That was my diet.



The Workout:

--


That was the workout.



The Day:

Today was the RPI Sailing Club Cook-off. We went up to the lake and spent the afternoon grilling outside on a beautiful Saturday while having a nice time out on the water sailing some 420s. It was a great day. Obviously I had to make some diet choices as this wasn’t the normal meal plan for me. I think I did a fairly good job at eating cleanly. In the end I probably should have skipped the cheddar vegetarian burger and the few sun chips. But still, I think I handled myself well given that there wasn’t much food to begin with.

For the rest of the day I spent my time working on schoolwork and studying for my upcoming tests. Tomorrow will be a data report day so be in tune for a special Sunday Morning journal entry. I’m curious to see my week’s results. Good night.


That was the day.




This concludes Entry #142.
 
Sunday 4/26/09
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Measurements:

Body Weight: 148.80lb Change: +0.00lb
Lean Mass: 136.90lb Change: +0.45lb
Percent Fat: 8.00% Change: -0.30%
Body Fat: 11.90lb Change: -0.45lb

Progress Pictures:







Thoughts and Opinions:

I’m fairly happy with my numbers this morning. I’m not losing weight quite as fast as I would like, but I am definitely heading in the right direction. This week it seems I maintained my weight, but lost a decent 0.3% body fat which both increased my muscle mass and decreased my fat mass.

Despite a sunburn from sailing yesterday and the day before, I think my pictures look pretty much the same as last week. There may be some slight increases in muscle definition but it’s tough to tell.

To kick up the pace a little I’m going to try and decrease my calories just a tad for this upcoming week. Next Sunday we’ll see if that makes any difference. For now though, as always, tell me what you think.




This concludes Entry #143 Sunday Morning Edition.
 
Sunday 4/26/09
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Diet:
9:15am:
1 medium Apple
1 small-medium Pear
3/4 bowl Cooked Rolled Oats
5 Egg Whites with Deli Ham (Mustard)
12:20pm:
1 medium Apple
1+ bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Green Pepper, Mixed Beans (Red Wine Vinegar, Balsamic Vinegar, a little Olive Oil)
1 bowl Beef Chili [thin, no beans]
1 slice Whole Wheat Bread with Deli Turkey, Lettuce, Tomato (Mustard)
5:30pm:
1 large bowl Lettuce Salad with Steak (a little Balsamic Vinaigrette)
2 Fillets Almond Crusted Chicken Breast (a little thick Cream Sauce)

That was my diet.



The Workout:

PUSHUPS:
1x42 [failure]
SIT-UPS:
1x61 [failure]


That was the workout.



The Day:

Most of my day was spent inside. I had an abundant amount of work to finish up before Monday (most of which I still have to do) because of the time spent sailing earlier on Friday and Saturday.

Later on in the evening I met my mother and sister for dinner. I thought I got a healthy dish for my entrée, but it turns out that the sub-par restaurant poured this disgusting thick sauce over it. I scraped off as much as I could and did my best to maintain good nutrition. After finishing the meal I realized that the dinner was not that large. I seriously considered heading back to my dining hall on campus afterwards, but am glad I made the good cutting choice and pushed myself away from that option.

At night I hit failure on purpose with my pushups. My numbers keep going down, but that doesn’t bother me. I feel like I am getting stronger, it’s just my form continues to improve alongside it. I took videos of the pushups. If I have time later on I’ll post them, but there isn’t much to report.

As per routine I also hit failure on my sit-ups. I hit my normal of 61 reps. I’m a little annoyed that this isn’t increasing since I definitely feel like I am getting stronger. I’ll give it some more time though; maybe it’s just in a short-term lull waiting for a sudden spike.

Tomorrow I have an exam. I’m gonna kill it. Good night.


That was the day.




This concludes Entry #143.
 
Keep up the good work! I wish I had 10% of your mental discipline when it comes to diet. Without reading all of your posts, are you doing a lot of body resistance training now?
 
Hi Backspace, nice to hear from you!

Thanks for the encouragement I really appreciate it :D.

I don't do too much body resistance training. I would say it's still a side to my main cardio and weight lifting routines. I am trying to get better though at doing the basic movements such as pullups, pushups, and sit-ups. It's tough to see improvements when cutting. Progress is slow. But, it is progress and I won't stop until I reach my idea of fitness.
 
Monday 4/27/09
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Diet:
7:15am:
1 small-medium Pear
1 medium Apple
3/4 bowl Cooked Rolled Oats
5 Egg Whites with Deli Ham (Mustard)
1:30pm:
1 medium Apple
1 bowl Chicken Noodle Soup [a little extra chicken, most noodles removed]
1+ large bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Green Pepper, Kidney Beans, Garbanzo Beans, a little Cottage Cheese (Red Wine Vinegar, Balsamic Vinegar, a little Olive Oil)
8 Egg Whites
5:20pm:
1+ bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Green Pepper, Garbanzo Beans (Red Wine Vinegar, Balsamic Vinegar, a little Olive Oil)
1 bowl Asian Chicken Vegetable Soup [a little extra chicken, extra vegetables]
1 slice Whole Wheat Bread with Deli Turkey, Lettuce, Tomato (Mustard)

That was my diet.



The Workout:

TREADMILL
5min @ 8.6mph
4:00min @ 8.7mph
2.0min @ 9.0mph
~1.5min @ 9.5mph
0.10 miles @ 10mph
0.10 miles (until 2.0 mile) @ 11mph
-> 2.0 mile in 13:28
ELLIPTICAL [full motion]
5min @ ~11.5-12cpm, 2resistance
5min @ ~12-13cpm, 4resistance
5min @ ~12-13cpm, 6resistance
4min @ ~13-14cpm, 8resistance
1min @ ~15cpm, 8resistance
TREADMILL:
10min @ 4.0mph, 6%incline

PUSHUPS
3x20 (1min rest)
SIT-UPS
3x30 (1min rest)


That was the workout.



The Day:

Today was a good day. In both nutrition and fitness I performed to my best expectations. During my run I was forced to use the more difficult treadmill (slightly higher elevation default than my normal one). I did not compensate though and decrease the intensity of my run. Instead I kept it just as I did last workout. Obviously this combination made the entire routine more intense and I ended up having to breathe my mouth instead of just my nose. In the end though it all lead up to a new record mile time that I am proud of achieving.

At night I’m not sure what it was but both my pushups and sit-ups seemed more difficult. My only guess is that it was due to the excessive heat we’ve been having and my dorm room is not air conditioned. That may have sapped some energy out of me. Either way I did my best and still was able to complete all the reps (though I think my form did break down slightly on pushups on the last set – videos will be posted tomorrow).

Besides the usual fitness and nutrition I also aced the test I had to take today. And I will leave it on that very good note. Good night.


That was the day.




This concludes Entry #144.
 
Here are some recent push-up sets. The first one I went to my failure while the other 3 are doing sets of 20. I still think my form does not need some fine tuning. I seem to be able to get it perfect sometimes, but not keep it that way. I'll keep working at it. Also I took the advice of someone on the boards and started out in the down position so that I could correctly position my hands. This actually made the lift harder since I think I had my arms too forward before. But hey, the harder the better!

Let me know if you see anything.
 
I was finally able to take some time today and record all my lifts. I think every single movement shows tremendous progress. Tell me what you think.

SQUATS:







DEADLIFTS:







BENCH PRESS:







DB SHOULDER PRESS:



DB ROWS:



KNUCKLE PUSH-UPS:
 
Tuesday 4/28/09
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Diet:
7:45am:
1 medium Apple
1 small-medium Pear
3/4 bowl Cooked Rolled Oats
5 Egg Whites [a little yolk slipped through] with Deli Ham (Mustard)
12:25pm:
1 medium-large Apple
5 Pickle Spears
1+ bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Green Pepper (Red Wine Vinegar, Balsamic Vinegar, a little Olive Oil)
1 bowl Beef Barley Soup [a little extra beef and barley]
1 slice Whole Wheat Bread with Deli Turkey, Lettuce, Tomato (Mustard)
5:20pm:
1+ bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Green Pepper, Garbanzo Beans (Red Wine Vinegar, Balsamic Vinegar, a little Olive Oil)
1 bowl Beef Barley Soup [extra beef and barley]
1 slice Whole Wheat Bread with Deli Turkey, Lettuce, Tomato (Mustard)

That was my diet.



The Workout:

ELLIPTICAL:
5min @ ~78+rpm

3x5x155 BB Squat
1min rest
3x5x170 BB Deadlift
1min rest
3x5x125 BB Bench Press
1min rest
3x10x25 DB Shoulder Press
30sec rest
3x10x30 DB Bent-Over Rows
30sec rest
3x5x25 Assisted Chin-Ups
1min rest
3x6 Dips (triceps version, straight)
1min rest
3x7 Knuckle Pushups
30sec rest
3x30sec Knee Raises
30sec rest



That was the workout.



The Day:

Today’s workout was really an emblem of form. For every lift I tried really hard to make sure that I did it with mental focus and perfect posture. I took videos of this all as posted earlier. I feel like at last I have reached the level where I can comfortably increase my weights (and I am ready for an increase) without worrying about how it will affect my ability to stay structured. As I mentioned earlier though since college is coming to a close and I will be switching gyms soon I don’t want to make changes right now. I will hold off increasing the poundage until I am working out at my new gym. This will be in less than two weeks.

There’s this pipe that runs along the ceiling of the hallway outside my dorm. It’s grippable and if I jump up I can grab onto it. And so, with this, I find out that my training has been worth it. I finally achieved a pull-up! I went from going to none just a few months ago to now doing three in a row and I bet I could do even more if I wasn’t pre-exhausted from my earlier lifting today. Now whenever I walk through the hallways I’m going to jump up and pump out a few. I think they call it “greasing the groove”. Now I have a groove to grease! I am so happy.


That was the day.




This concludes Entry #145.
 
Wednesday 4/29/09
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Diet:
7:45am:
1 small-medium Pear
1 small-medium Apple
1 bowl Cooked Rolled Oats [sweetened, runny]
5 Egg Whites with Deli Ham (Mustard)
12:25pm:
1 medium Apple
1+ bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Green Pepper, Garbanzo Beans (Red Wine Vinegar, Balsamic Vinegar, a little Olive Oil)
1 bowl Black Bean Vegetable Soup [potatoes removed]
1 slice Whole Wheat Bread with Deli Turkey, Lettuce, Tomato (Mustard)
5:20pm:
2 small Apples
1 bowl Black Bean Vegetable Soup [potatoes removed]
1 bowl Chicken Vegetable Soup
1 slice Whole Wheat Bread with Deli Turkey, Lettuce, Tomato (Mustard)

That was my diet.



The Workout:

ELLIPTICAL:
2 min @ ~69rpm, level 1 resistance
2 min @ ~69rpm, level 2 resistance
16 min @ 1:15 min ~91+rpm, 45 sec @ ~68rpm, level 3-10 resistance (increasing each interval)
TREADMILL:
10 min @ 4mph, 6% incline

PUSHUPS:
3x20 (1 min rest)
SITUPS:
3x30 (1min rest)


That was the workout.



The Day:

I was annoyed with my breakfast this morning. Unknowingly I took a spoonful of the oatmeal and found out it was sweet. I ate the rest of it anyway just to get my standard calories in, but it tasted worse and most certainly wasn’t better nutritionally.

A little after the morning meal I was off to the gym for my workout. I didn’t achieve up to my standards on the elliptical. For a very brief second I dipped under 90rpm on the sprints and unlike last time I wasn’t even that close to breaking my 93+rpm goal. These small under performances made me burn a total of 399 calories in the 20 minutes. I’m a little frustrated that I didn’t break the 400 mark like I have been for the past weeks. Oh well though, not every day can be a good day.

Later on in the day I faced another meal discrepancy. For dinner the salad bar vanished and was replaced with a cheese and bread station. I substituted what would have served as some additional healthy fats (from the olive oil) and healthy carbs (from the garbanzo beans and vegetables) with another bowl of soup and a little fruit. It wasn’t ideal, but I made it work.

At night I took videos of my pushups. I’ll post them tomorrow, but I’ll report the results now. On the first set I noticed my back was taking its slouched form that I thought I had gotten rid of. I fixed this on the next two sets. It annoys me that I still have to take videos to keep my form in check. But, I have patience. In the future I know that eventually it will just come naturally to me. I also noticed that I still wasn’t quite hitting parallel and that my neck was drooping (most likely from me looking down instead of ahead). I will continue to focus on making improvements for this core movement.


That was the day.




This concludes Entry #146.
 
Here are my most recent pushup videos. On the first set I started to slouch again, but I quickly fixed that on the second two. I still notice myself sometimes not quite breaking parallel but just nudging it. I also noticed my neck craning forward on the last set. I think if I look ahead instead of down it will help that. Tell me what you think.
 
Thursday 4/30/09
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Diet:
7:50am:
1 small-medium Apple
1 small-medium Pear
3/4 bowl Cooked Rolled Oats
5 Egg Whites with Deli Ham (Mustard)
12:25pm:
1 medium Apple
1+ bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Green Pepper, Garbanzo Beans [more than usual] (Red Wine Vinegar, Balsamic Vinegar, a little Olive Oil)
1 bowl Italian Wedding Soup [broth and vegetables only]
1 slice Whole Wheat Bread with Deli Turkey, Lettuce, Tomato (Mustard)
5:20pm:
1+ bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Green Pepper, Garbanzo Beans [more than usual] (Red Wine Vinegar, Balsamic Vinegar, a little Olive Oil)
1 bowl Italian Wedding Soup [broth and vegetables only]
1 slice Whole Wheat Bread with Deli Turkey, Lettuce, Tomato (Mustard)

That was my diet.



The Workout:

TREADMILL
5min @ 8.6mph
4:00min @ 8.7mph
2.0min @ 9.0mph
~1.5min @ 9.5mph
0.10 miles @ 10mph
0.10 miles (until 2.0 mile) @ 11mph
-> 2.0 mile in 13:30
ELLIPTICAL
5min @ ~70rpm, 1resistance
5min @ ~75rpm, 1resistance
5min @ ~80rpm, 1resistance
4min @ ~85rpm, 1resistance
1min @ 100+rpm, 1resistance
TREADMILL:
10min @ 4.0mph, 6%incline

PUSHUPS
3x20 (1min rest)
SIT-UPS
3x30 (1min rest)

That was the workout.



The Day:

It is late and I will be brief. During the gym today I was forced to use the standard elliptical instead of the full motion. I upped the intensity to a decent level, but I still don’t think it compared to the distress the full motion machine puts my body through. Oddly enough it did report me as burning 75 calories more than the other elliptical, but that doesn’t mean much. Truth is the other elliptical is harder, simple as that. And for that reason I prefer it.

I took videos of my pushups again and will be uploading them tomorrow along with some commentary. Stay tuned for that. Until then, good night.


That was the day.




This concludes Entry #147.
 
mcFreid said:
Hi Backspace, nice to hear from you!

Thanks for the encouragement I really appreciate it :D.

I don't do too much body resistance training. I would say it's still a side to my main cardio and weight lifting routines. I am trying to get better though at doing the basic movements such as pullups, pushups, and sit-ups. It's tough to see improvements when cutting. Progress is slow. But, it is progress and I won't stop until I reach my idea of fitness.
Click to expand...

I've been throwing resistance in a little, but all I do is pretty much run right now. Will be interesting after my half marathon to see what I choose.

It's good that you throw the resistance stuff in there.
 
Backspace said:
I've been throwing resistance in a little, but all I do is pretty much run right now. Will be interesting after my half marathon to see what I choose.

It's good that you throw the resistance stuff in there.
Click to expand...

Yeah good luck with the running. It's something I've never been good at, but I hope too to some day aspire to a half marathon or even a full. Right now I am just so happy that I finally do a pullup with no assistance. I do it as often as I can now. There's this pipe that runs right outside my dorm room and whenever I go to the bathroom (which is a lot considering how much water I drink) I jump on and pump out 1-3 (around 3 seems to be my maximum, but I think if I went on without having worked out earlier in the day I could possibly even get up to 5).
 
Here are my latest pushups. It's an obvious pattern now that my first set always seems to be the one lagging behind in terms of form. Once I get in the groove of how to properly execute the movement though I see dramatic improvements. I look forward to the day when every set is perfect without me even worrying about it. Meanwhile I tried to go deeper and look ahead instead of craning my neck down. I think I did make some progress in both of these areas, especially on the last set. Tell me what you think.
 
Friday 5/1/09
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Diet:
7:45am:
2 small Apples
1 small Pear
3/4 bowl Cooked Rolled Oats
5 Egg Whites with Deli Ham (Mustard)
12:20pm:
1 medium Apple
1+ bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Kidney Beans, Garbanzo Beans (Red Wine Vinegar, Balsamic Vinegar, a little Olive Oil)
1 bowl Seafood Vegetable Soup [potatoes removed, extra seafood]
1 slice Whole Wheat Bread with Deli Turkey, Lettuce, Tomato (Mustard)
5:20pm:
1+ bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Green Pepper, Kidney Beans, Garbanzo Beans (Red Wine Vinegar, a little Balsamic Vinegar, a little Olive Oil)
1 bowl Seafood Vegetable Soup [mostly broth]
1 slice Whole Wheat Bread with Deli Turkey, Lettuce, Tomato (Mustard)

That was my diet.



The Workout:

ELLIPTICAL:
5min @ ~78rpm, 1resistance
3x5x155 BB Squat
1min rest
3x5x170 BB Deadlift
1min rest
3x5x125 BB Bench Press
1min rest
3x5x35 DB Shoulder Press
1min rest
3x5x30 Assisted Pull-Ups
1min rest
3x6 Dips(chest version, leaning forward)
1min rest
3x5x25 Assisted Chin-Ups
1min rest
3x7 Knuckle Pushups
30sec rest
3x30secx Bicycle Crunches
30sec rest


That was the workout.



The Day:

At first my mind wasn’t really there. But I changed that. It’s a great a feeling to realize you have true control over yourself. I made myself focus on the task at hand, and that made all the difference. I excelled with all of my lifts and made myself feel the burn on every single motion. It was glorious.

Later on for lunch and dinner I was pleasantly surprised to see a new item on the menu. My dining hall had stocked a new kind of whole wheat bread that contained extra fiber and a little less calories. The best part though is that this was true whole wheat bread in that the ingredients didn’t contain any of that enriched stuff and no high fructose corn syrup.

For some reason after the lunch with the new bread I felt oddly bloated. It passed very quickly though. Maybe it was the seafood? Besides that my diet was dead on today.


That was the day.




This concludes Entry #148.
 
Saturday 5/2/09
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Diet:
9:20am:
1 small Pear
1 small-medium Apple
3/4 bowl Cooked Rolled Oats
5 Egg Whites with Deli Ham (Mustard)
12:20pm:
1 small Pear
1 small Apple
1+ bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Green Pepper (Red Wine Vinegar, a little Olive Oil)
1 bowl Chicken Noodle Soup
1 slice Whole Wheat Bread with Deli Turkey, Lettuce, Tomato (Mustard)
5 Pickle Spears
5:25pm:
1+ bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Green Pepper (Red Wine Vinegar, Balsamic Vinegar, a little Olive Oil)
15-20 Carrot Strips
1 bowl Hearty Tomato Soup
1 slice Whole Wheat Bread with Deli Turkey, Lettuce, Tomato (Mustard)

That was my diet.



The Workout:

--


That was the workout.



The Day:

Nothing really to report back today. My diet was fairly normal, though the salad bar section did lack the standard canned beans. Also disappointing was the no longer available real whole wheat bread. I’m back now to eating the next best thing which is bread still made with whole wheat flour, but it contains high fructose corn syrup as well.

I do want to mention real quick that I have been doing what I mentioned a few post ago in that every time I walk through my dorm hallways I jump on the horizontal pipeline on the ceiling and pump out some pull-ups. I feel like I am getting better every day. It’s great.


That was the day.




This concludes Entry #149.
 
Sunday 5/3/09
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Measurements:

Body Weight: 148.40lb Change: -0.40lb
Lean Mass: 136.97lb Change: +0.07lb
Percent Fat: 7.70% Change: -0.30%
Body Fat: 11.43lb Change: -0.47lb

Progress Pictures:







Thoughts and Opinions:

I saw some awesome numbers on the scale and fat analyzer today. The combined measurements made the perfect result. I increased my lean mass while decreasing my body fat and weight. What more can you ask for!

My pictures today also show some increased leanness. I particularly see it in my relaxed pose as my stomach is beginning to show everyday increasingly more definition. I am just so happy that my work ethic is giving me the results I want. I can say confidently that it will be the right thing to continue. And so, I will continue with it.



This concludes Entry #150 Sunday Morning Edition.
 
Sunday 5/3/09
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Diet:
9:20am:
1 small Pear
1 medium Apple
3/4 bowl Cooked Rolled Oats
5 Egg Whites with Deli Ham (Mustard)
12:25pm:
1 medium Apple
1+ bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Green Pepper, Garbanzo Beans (Red Wine Vinegar, Balsamic Vinegar, a little Olive Oil)
~10+ Carrot Strips
1 bowl Beef Vegetable Soup [a little beef, potatoes removed]
1 slice Whole Wheat Bread with Deli Turkey, Lettuce, Tomato (Mustard)
5:25pm:
~10 Carrot Strips
1+ bowl Lettuce Salad with Green Pepper, Garbanzo Beans (Red Wine Vinegar, Balsamic Vinegar, a little olive Oil)
1 bowl Beef Vegetable Soup [a little beef, potatoes removed]
1 slice Sourdough Italian Bread with Deli Turkey, Lettuce, Tomato (Mustard)

That was my diet.



The Workout:

PUSHUPS:
1x43 [failure]
SIT-UPS:
1x65 [failure]


That was the workout.



The Day:

Today marks the 150th milestone of my journal entries. I can’t believe it’s been 150 days already. Time really does fly by. If I look back now to what I was compared to what I am I can’t help but smile. I’ve come so far. I can’t wait to see who I will be on journal entry #300.

For the first time at college I experienced a shortage of whole wheat bread. Ironic that this happens on the last few days left that I eat at the dining halls. I had to instead make my sandwich with sourdough Italian bread. I opted for the smallest slice possible. The calories for the slice are the same as that of the whole wheat bread, though nutritionally it is most certainly not idea. In the end though it’s just one meal and won’t make a noticeable impact on my nutrition.

At night I tested my new maximums for pushups and sit-ups. I saw increases in both and am glad for it. It’s about time. I also took a video of the pushups to verify my form. Besides not going quite to parallel on some reps it was near perfect. I’ll post that for your guys’ review as soon as I get a chance.

I have two finals tomorrow and I’m going to destroy them. Good night.


That was the day.




This concludes Entry #150.
 
Here's my latest video of me attemping my new maximum for pushups. I did break it by the way. My only real complaint I noticed of my self is that I seem to just hit shy of parallel on a good deal of reps. I'm going to really have to try and focus on making sure that I am lowering my self all the way. I have to admit it is tough to do this while also testing my maximum since I feel so driven to get in as many reps as possible. Hopefully if I keep trying it going parallel will become like a habit in that it will feel completely wrong and akward not to. Anyway, I've said enough. I'm much more interested in what you have to say. Tell me what you think.
 
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