Building Muscle - My Diet and Exercise Plan

Ahhh, I was so excited to get back to being a gym rat this week but then I came down with a wretched cold on Monday... I've still kept active but I've been kinda just going through the motions with each workout and not really giving it 100%. Hope to get back to normal soon:

Sunday - RPM
Monday - Body Pump
Tuesday - Body Attack

I was going to go for a run before work this morning but it just wasn't happening -- when I'm sick, I always feel the worst first thing in the morning so I plan to go tonight if I feel up to it.
 
No need to push yourself while you're sick. That usually just exascerbates things. Some light activity probably won't hurt you, but don't worry about putting in a huge effort until you're on the recovery end of things.
 
Yeah, I've been taking it pretty easy since Tuesday. Took a rest day on Wednesday and did a light 5K on Thursday and Friday. I still have a cough but feel okay energy wise... still not 100% though...
 
Tuesday - Body Attack
Wednesday - Body Pump
Thursday - RPM
Today - rest

Body Attack is one of the classes I missed most during training over the summer... I did it once and regretted it for the rest of the week, as it destroyed my legs for the rest of my runs. Lots of plyometric moves in that class but it's a lot of fun... definitely one of my favourite Les Mills classes.

I've also started adding weight again in Body Pump - on Wednesday, I added for squats, lunges and shoulders. I'm still sore from that one... next week is a new release so I might have to take it down a notch until I know what I'm getting into.
 
Fun is good. I've recently started dabbling into more high intensity cardio/conditioning than just getting on the cross-trainer for 20min. So far I like DB swings (would do kettlebell swings if the gym had KBs) and medicine ball slams. I want to start doing burpees, but by the time I've done my strength training, I don't think I have it in me to do any decent work with them. I'm also thinking of trying some thrusters soon, just not with a barbell like Crossfitters do (cus that's awkward at best).
 
I always feel bad for guys because I feel like their options for fun cardio are limited... I have the most fun in fitness classes but they tend to be pretty female-centric. Although I once did Body Attack at the co-ed gym and was surprised to see quite a few guys in the class... they looked a little out of place doing some of the moves but they also appeared to be having way more fun than the guys outside slaving away on the treadmill.

Burpees are always fun but I agree they can be tough on your arms/shoulders if you've been lifting beforehand.
 
I always used to despise burpees, honestly. But that's just because every time someone thought they should get me to do burpess, they also thought it was a great idea to demand that I do them as fast as possible...and then 3x faster than that, to the point that they became more like an exorcism than an exercise. It was when, for some reason, I tried them on my own one day without anyone telling me what to do , that I discovered they actually aren't the worst exercise in the world.

I've never been one to do classes, not so much out of a lack of interest, but rather by the time I've done my strength training and made a priority out of it, I know it'd be counter-productive to do a 45-60min high intensity, high impact cardio session. I have attended some classes for education purposes, some better than others, some boring, some fun (here's a surprise, back at my last job I attended a couple boxing classes and found them boring because it was just hitting pads, but about a year ago I attended a Pilates class of all things that turned out to be rivetting fun).

In summary (by which I mean this doesn't actually summarise anything I just wrote at all), guys like to hang out at the back of the class to stare at the girls in front of them. True story.
 
Goldfish said:
In summary (by which I mean this doesn't actually summarise anything I just wrote at all), guys like to hang out at the back of the class to stare at the girls in front of them. True story.
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Noted.

And here I was thinking they just wanted to escape the monotony of the treadmill... I'm so naive ;)

This week so far:
Saturday - Body Pump
Sunday - RPM
Monday - Body Pump
Tonight - going to do Body Attack

In other news, I've been starting to notice some arm/shoulder muscles where there were none before. Kind of random since my strength training efforts have been a little half assed as of late... here are some recent pics:

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I'm not looking to get much bigger than this so my focus for the next little while will be shedding a bit of fat. My workout routine will be 3 days of interval training (RPM or Body Attack) and 3 days of strength training. I'm hoping the switch from endurance to interval training will get things going... and obviously I'll have to pay more attention to diet. The plan is to stay within the 1400-1600 calorie range most days of the week, with 1-2 days at 1800-2100.
 

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I've managed to get in three 6AM workouts this week (Body Pump on Monday and Wednesday and RPM on Thursday) and discovered that I pretty much suck at everything at 6 in the morning. I hope my body will eventually get used to early morning workouts because I'm finding I have less and less time in the evenings during the week.

I'm taking a rest day today and hoping to go for a short run tomorrow morning... the company I work for is hosting a trade show this weekend and I have to be there both days so it might be tough to get in my usual weekend workouts.
 
Sounds like you got a good thing goin... keep it up, for weight loss I would put more running in my weeks of training. I'm a long time runner, also I enjoy running half marathons... some weights at the gym 4day's a week. I run 5 or more days a week.. 3mi to 11mi. when training... Your diet looks better that mine.. I'm just under 5'8'' and 138 in weight.
 
joyrun03 said:
Sounds like you got a good thing goin... keep it up, for weight loss I would put more running in my weeks of training. I'm a long time runner, also I enjoy running half marathons... some weights at the gym 4day's a week. I run 5 or more days a week.. 3mi to 11mi. when training... Your diet looks better that mine.. I'm just under 5'8'' and 138 in weight.
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I actually gained weight training for a half marathon and that's currently what I'm trying to undo at the moment... so running for weight loss doesn't really work for me; turns out, I'm one of those special people who can easily out-eat the 1000+ calorie deficit created by a long run. Based on past experience, my current plan is the most effective one for fat loss. Which is good because it's also freezing outside and I'm what you would call a fairweather runner ;)

This week's workouts:

Sunday - 5 km run (it was the first nice day we've had in weeks, so I really enjoyed this)

Monday - Body Pump - this week is release week at GoodLife, meaning all new routines in all of the LesMills classes. I'm not loving the latest Body Pump release but I like the fact that we keep the same workout for the next three weeks - this gives me a good opportunity to track my progress.

Starting weight on the bar for Body Pump 79:
Squats - 17 kg (goal 20kg)
Chest - 10 kg (goal 12 kg)
Back - 12 kg (goal 15 kg)
Triceps - 7 kg (goal 9 kg)
Biceps - 5 kg (goal 7 kg)
Lunges - 10 kg (goal 15 kg)
Shoulders - 5 kg on the bar; 3 kg hand weights; push ups on knees (goal - 7kg on the bar, 4 kg hand weights, big girl push ups)

Tuesday - Body Attack - I'm obsessed with the latest Body Attack release. I've never had so much fun doing a workout that was so hard -- there are a ton of plyometric moves in this one but thanks to some cheesy music/choreography, I was having a great time. Can't wait to do this one again.

Wednesday - Body Pump

Thursday - RPM

Today - rest

Tomorrow - Body Pump
 
Week in review:

Sunday - Body Step - I was looking for an easy/fun workout but it'd been awhile since I last did Body Step and it turns out they have changed a few things... and by that I mean they've made it really hard by replacing two of the easiest tracks with an 8-minute boot camp style circuit with burpees and weighted squat jumps. It's way more challenging than it used to be, but it's still got that cheesy Richard Simmons style choreography that I secretly love.
Monday - Body Pump
Tuesday - Body Attack
Wednesday - Body Pump
Thursday - RPM
Friday - REST
Tomorrow - Body Pump -- time to add! Based on Monday and Wednesday's workouts, I *think* I'm ready to add for the chest track and the clean and press. Maybe lunges too. We'll see how tomorrow goes.

With the exception of last Saturday (where I ate a crapton of sweets and cake at my sister's baby shower, then ate typical bar food later in the evening to watch the UFC fight...), I've eaten pretty well over the last three weeks. Lots of protein, unprocessed food, lower carbs, etc. I'm down 2 pounds, which is a good rate of loss for me. I'll probably be back to a maintenance diet by December.
 
^^^ Add a 10 K run to last Saturday's log - I generally don't do two workouts per day but the weather was gorgeous and I kept thinking it might be my last chance to go for a non-torturous run before winter hits

Sunday - 5K run
Monday - Body Pump
Tuesday - unplanned rest day; I was feeling a little burnt out so I skipped Body Attack
Wednesday - Body Pump
This morning - RPM
 
Friday - Rest
Saturday - Body Pump + Body Jam
Sunday - Body Step
Monday - Body Pump
Tuesday - Body Attack
Wednesday - Body Pump
Thursday - Body Flow
Friday - Rest
Saturday - Body Pump

Not much to report this week -- I finally made it to the end of the plyo track in Body Attack on Tuesday. My last set of lunge jumps was a little shaky but I completed it. Other than that, I've been mixing things up with some new classes and just having fun with my current routine.
 
That's a lot of classes! Congrats on beating the plyometrics.

I never commented on your progress pics further up the page before, but your transformation is quite clear when compared to the pics you posted a while back. You've shown some great results, both performance-wise and aesthetically. Good job :)
 
Goldfish said:
That's a lot of classes! Congrats on beating the plyometrics.

I never commented on your progress pics further up the page before, but your transformation is quite clear when compared to the pics you posted a while back. You've shown some great results, both performance-wise and aesthetically. Good job :)
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Yeah, I become a total gym rat/group-ex junkie in winter...

Thanks for the feedback -- it's hard to be objective sometimes when looking at your own physical progress, so it's always nice to hear from a neutral party. :)

This week has been a little less active than usual (took an extra rest day) because I had to go into the city for a work conference, which added an extra couple of hours to my commute. But my diet has been spot on so I consider it a successful week in that respect.

Sunday - RPM
Monday - Body Pump
Tuesday- Body Attack
Wednesday - Rest
Thursday - Body Pump + 50 min walk (saved $6 on subway fare!)
Today - rest
Tomorrow- Body Pump + Body Jam
 
^^^ Didn't end up doing the Body Jam class on Saturday...

Week in Review:
Sunday - BodyStep
Monday - Body Pump
Tuesday - RPM
Wednesday - Body Pump
Thursday - RPM
Friday - randomly signed up for a hot yoga class (they had a good deal going at a local studio so I decided to mix things up a little). Normally, the only yoga I do is BodyFlow, which is pretty easy but nice for a good stretch, but after yesterday's class I'm actually pretty sore, especially in the upper body. Looking forward to trying some of the other classes.

Planning to go to Body Pump this morning...
 
Last Saturday, my car battery died... by the time I sorted that out, Body Pump was over so I did Body Attack instead - this particular class is a really high-energy group so I had a lot of fun. I'd like to attend this class more often.
Sunday - RPM + 1.5 yoga - the yoga was a mix of regular yoga followed by about 40 minutes of realllllly looong stretching. It felt nice and I'm sure it was good for me but I was bored to tears. Plus, I really had to pee by the end of the hour so yeah... not the greatest time I've ever had at the gym.
Monday - Body Pump
Tuesday - RPM
Wednesday - Body Pump
Thursday - hot yoga (still milking that $10 weekly pass). This was an interesting class -- they had a live musician playing guitar and chanting. Quite a contrast to the atmosphere at GoodLife lol...

Over the past two weeks, I've really been focusing on my diet, particularly on cleaning up my weekend eating habits. I'm going to start food logging again because I get the best results when I pay more attention to diet.
 
Friday - Rest
Saturday - Body Pump
Sunday - Body Step
Monday - Pump
Tuesday - RPM
Wednesday - Pump

Today will either be a rest day or I'll do a yoga class in the evening, depending on my schedule. I'd like to start adding some free weights to my routine for a little variety. I'm planning to get in a quick session before work tomorrow.

Diet: I've kept my calories just under 1500 per day, with the exception of Tuesday, which was my cheat day (bake exchange at the office... enough said). Even then, I kept within maintenance calories. I've also been very consistent about getting 25-30% of my calories from protein. The plan from here is a final week of fat loss, go back to maintenance calories for 2 weeks (notice how I timed that around Christmas/New Year's?) then another four weeks of a fat loss diet before my beach vacation in mid-February.
 
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