Training and Self Assessment and Ken

So my ol’ high school friend Ken called me this weekend to tell me he’s getting married to a girl I’ve never met. I really must meet her soon, otherwise they’ll be married and I won’t be able to say, “Remember back in the day…” I’m happy for Ken and I’m super-curious about his fiancée, Olivia.

Congratulations Ken and Olivia.

This has nothing to do with my standard training posts… well not yet, anyway. Ken told me that he hits The Book from time to time. Cool. He then proceeded to praise me on my detailed thoughts about feces. Way cool! Finally, he tossed in a bit of constructive criticism regarding these boring-ass training posts (my words, not his). Acknowledged. I know these posts suck for everyone else but me. These posts are a purely unentertaining selfish endeavor. I’d apologize, but this is my Book. Anyway, I got to thinking… how ironic would it be to embed a message to Ken in one of my training posts, this training post? It would be about as ironic as, say, an Alanis Morissette song.

Without further adieu:

The time is ripe for another Training and Self Assessment. Some would call me crazy for doing this right before the holidays, when chocolate and pie tempt my eye at every turn, when family commitments jumble the week, when alcohol flows freely at no expense to me, when ma-in-law and grandma-in-law are flying in for eight days, when the general philosophy is to consume, when friends will say I’m crazy for hitting the gym Christmas Eve, and when family will plead with me to eat crap. And therein lies the point. I’m solidifying my willpower now, before it’s too late.

My last plan (here) was totally interrupted by the flu, which screwed me up pretty bad. I lost 5-lbs, dropping me briefly under 160. I haven’t been that light in year. Very depressing.

Work Out
My primary goal was to increase my clean&jerk to 200-lbs and stay consistent with my High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). Thanks to the flu, I’m still struggling with 185-lb clean&jerk. I will continue to purse 200. I never intended to achieve this goal right away. I knew/know it will take time. As far as HIIT… ha! I’m still looking for consistency. General gym attendance was about three visits per week. My routine worked well and I chalk it up as another winner.
Grade: C+

Nutrition
My primary goal was to religiously use my fitday log. I did well, until the flu. After the flu, it took me a while to restart the food log. My diet was the fluctuating caloric intake Delta 1250 Diet (a.k.a. Anabolic Burst Cycling of Diet and Exercise). I stuck to it really well before the flu. I guess the Delta 1250 Diet works, but I wasn’t amazed with it. No unheralded muscle gains and no supernatural fat loss. I’ve used more effective nutrition plans that were nowhere near as complex as this one. Sometimes the simpler, the better. Then the flu hit and I lost weight. I panicked and bumped up my calories to 3,500-kcal in order to regain my >160-lbs (which I’ve done). Unfortunately, the last two months have been shot full of stupid fast-food meals… like 2 – 3 meals a week. I also dramatically increased my dairy for the last couple weeks and I puffed up like a blowfish. Me plus massive amounts of dairy are a no-no.
Grade: D+

Sleep
I’ve done awesome sleeping lately. I get a fairly regular 8-hours minimum. Kenny is three-apples tall and lives in a mushroom house.
Grade: A-

Moisturizer
This was a new goal. I’ve never really paid much attention to lotion unless I need to lube my tube. I’m going to blame this non-attentiveness on being a guy. Hurrah for lotion! I love this stuff. And double hurrah for petroleum jelly. My feet no longer bleed in dry weather; they still crack like the Mariana Trench, but at least they don’t bleed. Thanks, Rach, for the petroleum jelly + sock regimen.
Grade: A+

New Plan
My gym plan is the same as last time. My primary goal in the gym is to increase my Clean&Jerk to 200-lbs. I will focus on full body functional training as outlined in this article. My secondary goal is to be fucking consistent with my HIIT.

Monday
1. Clean&Jerk: 7 (sets) X 3 (reps)
2. Wide-Grip Pull-Ups:5X5
3. One-Armed Dumbbell Snatches: 5X5
15-20 minutes of interval training

Wednesday
1. Squat: 5X5
2. Bench Press: 5X5
3. Seated Cable Row: 5X5
4a. Cyclone: 3X10
4b. Hanging Crunches: 3X10

Friday
1. Clean&Jerk: 3X7
2. Dead Lift: 5X5
3. Arnold Press: 5X5
15-20 minutes of interval training

My main nutritional goal is (once again) to regularly log my foods in my fitday account. Secondary goals include cutting down on dairy and evening out at maintenance level calories (approximately 2,600-kcal). I also intend to stay away from fast-food for the duration of this program. Currently, I am 162.4-lbs at 10.2% bodyfat. I’m expecting to lean out a little (say 9.0% bodyfat) with this meal template that scedules all carbohydrate for the evening after my workout and the following morning:

Meal template for workout days
6:30AM: 1-serv whey protein, 1-tbs flaxseed oil
9:00AM: 4-oz ground beef, 1-cup vegetables
11:30AM: 5-oz chicken breast, 1.5-cup salad, 0.5-tbs olive oil
1:30PM: 1-serv whey protein, 1-tbs flaxseed oil
3:30PM: 4-oz ground beef, 1-cup vegetables
4:30PM: Workout
5:30PM: 1-serv whey protein, 8-oz yogurt
6:30PM: 1-cup cereal, 1-serv whey protien
8:00PM: 1-can tuna, 0.5-cup rice, 0.5-lentils
10:00PM: 1-cup cottage cheese, 0.5-cup fruit
(Stats: 2,760-kcal, 97-grams fat, 176-grams carbohydrates, 292-grams protein. I may cut carbs if I don’t lean out a little.)

Meal template for 3,150-kcal weeks
6:30AM: 1-cup cottage cheese, 0.5-cup fruit
9:00AM: 1-can tuna, 0.5-cup rice, 0.5-lentils
11:30AM: 5-oz chicken breast, 1.5-cup salad, 0.5-tbs olive oil
1:30PM: 4-oz ground beef, 1-cup vegetables
3:30PM: 4-oz ground beef, 1-cup vegetables
5:30PM: 2-serv whey protein, 1-tbs flaxseed oil
7:30PM: 4-oz ground beef, 1-cup vegetables
9:30PM: 2-serv whey protein, 1-tbs flaxseed oil
(Stats: 2,550-kcal, 107-grams fat, 85-grams carbohydrates, 301-grams protein.)

Once again, I'm going to try to work on sleep. I'm gunning for 8-hours a night, minimum. Sleep usually is the first thing to suffer when life starts to get overwhelming, so for the next four-weeks I'm going to plan on hitting the ol' bed at 10:00PM and waking up at 6:00AM.

In a month or so I shall look back and see how this all pans out.
...and so it was written, shenry at 12/15/2003 02:55:00 PM.
...and so it was appended with .