Day Three, Week Two: Bench Press

Monday bench presses.

Bench Press Day
Exercise	3/21 2011	3/28 2011	Week Three	Week Four
Bench Press	260x5	300x5
	260x5	300x5
	260x5	300x5
	260x5
	260x5
Incline Bench Press	185x15	185x15
	205x11	205x12
	225x4	225x6
Bent-over Row	165x15	165x15
	185x10	185x11
	185x9	185x10

Day 26 Weigh-In: 285.2

Well, the excitement from a couple of days ago has worn off; the next day I was 2 pounds heavier, and today I'm 2 pounds lighter again, but still slightly heavier than 2 days ago. It's quite the emotional roller coaster.

I've come to a conclusion that is disappointing but brings me a certain amount of relief: I probably won't make 242 by June 25th. It's disappointing because I've been trying so hard, and early on was so encouraged, only to have that work apparently not pay off as much as it ought to, and to have that encouragement disappear.

But it's relieving because, although I'm not going to try any less hard, accepting that I probably won't make it means my heart isn't going to drop as painfully as the blue line in the chart below creeps above the green one. And I've added the red line representing the weight loss necessary to make 275, the weight class I've been competing in, and I'm at least a little encouraged by the fact that it seems likely I'll make that weight by a mile.

Day Two, Week Two: Squats

Friday squats. You know, at 420 pounds per rep, 3 sets of 5 means I squatted over 3 tons!

Squat Day
Exercise	3/18 2011	3/25 2011	Week Three	Week Four
Squat	365x5	420x5
	365x5	420x5
	365x5	420x5
	365x5
	365x5
Straight Leg Deadlift	290x13	290x15
	290x10	290x12
	290x10	290x10
Incline Twisting Situps	0x12*	0x12*
	0x12**	0x12**
	0x10**	0x10**
* Steepest incline ** Second steepest incline

Day 24 Weigh-In: 285.0

Well, the scale FINALLY gave me reason to be encouraged this morning, telling me that at 285.0 I'm 1.6 pounds lighter than yesterday, and the lightest I've weighed since I started tracking again a little over 3 weeks ago. I'm not certain why I'm seeing results this morning, but I've got a suspicion.

During the first ten days I lost nearly 8 pounds, focusing only on the number of calories I was consuming each day. Then I started cutting back on carbohydrates as a result of a movie I had seen. That first day of low-carb I lost 2.4 pounds, and over the next week lost another 4.6 pounds. But then I plateaued and even gained weight, going from 285.6 to 286.6 over the course of 4 days. I began to wonder if, although low-carb diets certainly seem to work for many people, perhaps it isn't for me.

So yesterday I went back to eating a "normal" amount of carbs, and sure enough, I wake up this morning 1.6 pounds lighter than yesterday, and lighter than I've been since competing back in December. Of course one day isn't enough to be certain, so I'll go a few more days eating a normal amount of carbs before making up my mind, but boy I tell you, it feels good to be seemingly on-track again.

Day 23 Weigh-In: 286.6

I haven't posted my weight in a few days because I've been so very frustrated by what I've seen on the scale. Despite eating very healthfully and exercising vigorously, Monday morning I weighed in at 2 pounds heavier than the morning before, and yesterday I weighed in slightly lighter, but resulting in only a loss of 0.6 pounds in a week. And this morning I weighed in at 0.2 pounds heavier than that!

The first two weeks went so incredibly well, but the third week and this first day of week four has left me so terribly discouraged. Please keep me in your prayers. I'm not sure what's going on.

Day One, Week Two: Military Press

Wednesday military presses.

Military Press Day
Exercise	3/16 2011	3/23 2011	Week Three	Week Four
Military Press	145x5	165x5
	145x5	165x5
	145x5	165x5
	145x5
	145x5
Dumbbell Triceps Extension	45x13*	45x15*
	45x10*	50x10*
	45x8*	50x7*
Wide Overhand Pulldown	170x15 (P)	170x15 (P)
	180x12 (P)	180x13 (P)
	190x8 (P)	190x9 (P)
* Weight per arm (P) Machine used at the PRO Club

Day Four, Week One: Deadlifts

Tuesday deadlifts.

Deadlift Day
Exercise	3/22 2011	Week Two	Week Three	Week Four
Deadlift	400x5
	400x5
	400x5
	400x5
	400x5
Dumbbell Step-ups	55x14 (7)
	55x14 (7)
	55x14 (7)
Lying Hamstring Curl	40x15
	45x12
	47.5x8
(#) Weight per arm, step-ups per leg

Day Three, Week One: Bench Press

Monday bench presses.

Bench Press Day
Exercise	3/21 2011	Week Two	Week Three	Week Four
Bench Press	260x5
	260x5
	260x5
	260x5
	260x5
Incline Bench Press	185x15
	205x11
	225x4
Bent-over Row	165x15
	185x10
	185x9

Day 20 Weigh-In: 285.4

A whole 0.2 pounds lost since yesterday :(

Day 19 Weigh-In: 285.6

I'm down 0.8 pounds from yesterday, but only 0.4 pounds down from the day before; not quite the results I was hoping for.

Lap Swimming: 36 Lengths in 30 Minutes

The last two times I swam laps this week, I would swim two 25-yard lengths in a minute, and then I'd need to rest for a minute, for a total of 30 lengths in 30 minutes. Today I swam a little bit more slowly, and by pacing myself was able to swim six lengths in 3:40 before resting for 1:20, for a total of 36 lengths in 30 minutes. Must have burned somewhere between 375 and 425 calories.

Day 18 Weigh-In: 286.4

Slightly heavier than yesterday morning, 0.4 pounds heavier to be precise. Again, I expect minor fluctuations, and I ate a bit much last night, so I'm not bothered. Tomorrow morning should be better.

Day Two, Week One: Squats

Day two of my new workout has me doing 5 sets of 5 squats at about 70% of my one rep max weight, which I've treated as being 5% heavier than last workout, followed by two supplemental exercises:

Squat Day
Exercise	3/18 2011	Week Two	Week Three	Week Four
Squat	365x5
	365x5
	365x5
	365x5
	365x5
Straight Leg Deadlift	290x13
	290x10
	290x10
Incline Twisting Situps	0x12*
	0x12**
	0x10**
* Steepest incline ** Second steepest incline

St. Patty's Day Weigh-In: 286.0

After a day of weightlifting, stair climbing, brisk walking and lap swimming, this morning I weighed in at 286.0 lbs., 1.6 pounds lighter than yesterday. Boy I'm dreading the day that this weight loss slows down to a crawl...

3.1 Mile Walk in 0:48:24

Walked 3.1 miles today in 48 minutes and 24 seconds, for an average of 3.8 mph and around 500 calories burned.

Day 16 Weigh-In: 287.6

A weight gain of 0.6 pounds this morning, but I ate a big dinner last night and I know I ought to expect the occasional fluctuation, so I'm not worried.

Day One, Week One: Military Press

Started a new workout today, same idea as last time but using a 5% greater one-rep max and with new supplemental exercises. Day one has me doing 5 sets of 5 military presses at 70% of my one-rep max.

Also, when I got to work I climbed the 31+ flights of stairs in my building, but as I've done a time or two in the past, I did more than that: after every two flights of stairs I went down one. The end result was 62+ flights of stairs actually climbed.

Military Press Day
Exercise	3/16 2011	Week Two	Week Three	Week Four
Military Press	145x5
	145x5
	145x5
	145x5
	145x5
Dumbbell Triceps Extension	45x13*
	45x10*
	45x8*
Wide Overhand Pulldown	170x15 (P)
	180x12 (P)
	190x8 (P)
* Weight per arm (P) Machine used at the PRO Club

1.91 mile walk in 0:30:10

Well I had intended to walk longer and farther than this, but about 15 minutes in it started raining pretty heavily, so I turned back early. Still, I managed a 1.91 mile walk in about 30 minutes, which translates to an average of 3.8mph and about 300 calories burned.

Weight Loss Progress: Week Two

Whereas week one started out great but then frustrated me with virtually no weight loss for 5 days in a row, week two has been consistently encouraging throughout. I lost 6.2 pounds in that first week, going from 300.2 to 294. This week I went from 294 to 287, a loss of 7 pounds, for a two-week total of 13.2 pounds lost.

This puts me well ahead of where I'd hoped I would be, as the chart below shows. If I lost about 0.5 pounds each day, beginning two weeks ago, I'd hit exactly 242 on June 25th, the day of competition (green line). But I've been losing on average almost twice that (red line), and today I'm 6.2 pounds ahead; I could lose no weight at all for nearly 2 weeks and still be on track. Of course, I don't want that to happen, but it definitely takes some of the pressure off.

I can't wait to see how week three goes!

Day Four, Week Four: Deadlifts

The last workout of recovery week #4, day four has me doing 5 sets of 8 deadlifts at 60% of my one-rep max (by the way, even at only 60% of my one-rep max, 5 sets of 8 deadlifts is excruciatingly exhausting), followed by two supplemental exercises. And I still HATE lunges! Fortunately I begin a new workout tomorrow which doesn't include them.

Deadlift Day
Exercise	2/22 2011	3/1 2011	3/8 2011	3/15 2011
Deadlift	135x10	135x10	135x10	135x10
	225x8	225x8	225x8	225x8
	380x5	435x5	380x5	325x8
	380x5	435x5	435x5	325x8
	380x5	435x5	460x6**	325x8
	380x5			325x8
	380x5			325x8
Dumbbell Walking Lunge	35x10*	45x10*	55x10*	55x10*
	35x10*	45x10*	55x10*	55x10*
	35x10*	55x10*	55x10*	55x10*
Kneeling Hamstring Curl	35x15†	45x15†	55x15†	55x15†
	45x15†	55x15†	65x15†	65x15†
	55x15†	65x15†	75x15†	75x15†
* Weight per arm, and steps per leg † Weight per leg ** Reps until near failure