10/10, Phase III, Day 10

Got wiped out again. Guess that addition of one rep across all sets took its toll on me. Thank God I'm already halfway through this horrid phase. (Kinda sad that this is my motivating factor, huh? )

On another note, one of the trainers chatted me up asking me if I was on a diet. He said that while I was getting bigger, he could see it was from both fat and muscle. (So much for last week's half-a-pound weight loss. LOL.) I chalked it up to my endomorphness, which he readily dismissed since he said he was one too. (I've seen a pic of him when he was competing years ago, and damn, he was ripped.) He then followed up asking me what my goals were (powerlifter or bodybuilder) and I replied I'd probably start trimming down after I was done with my current program. (Problem is, I've seen a sample of Cosgrove's Afterburn Training program, and it scares me. ) He ended with telling me just to watch what I'm eating and do more cardio. I suppose I should be thankful for the advice especially since he wasn't my trainer.

Here's the thing though. I don't have the discipline to follow the bodybuilding route (especially the diet) and I'm afraid of hurting myself again from powerlifting (speaking from experience)... so yeah, I haven't decided what my goals really are.

10/10, Phase III, Day 8

Doing a one-armed DB bench press at 100lbs. was interesting if only from the fear of flipping over from trying to balance the weight over me. Luckily, I only had 3/4 reps per set to worry about today. I had more problems with the Single leg DB deadlifts.

10/10, Phase III, Day 5

Apparently wussing out on my first sets and lowering all the weights was the best thing I did today. If I started with the original loads I intended, I would be in much worse shape than I am now. Five 15-rep one-limb exercises times 4 equals agony.

Just have to remember I only have to do this two more times.

10/10, Phase III, Day 3

I figured out why this is a fat loss phase. After you're done with the day's workout, all you wanna do is puke. I couldn't even get through it without an emergency sports drink infusion--water wasn't cutting it. I guess this is the "metabolic disturbance" at work. This better be worth it. LOL.

10/10, Phase III, Day 1

Three reasons to hate Phase III: "Uni-lateral training forces you to spend twice as long with each exercise [...,] to work overtime to balance out the weight discrepancy, [... and] to work much harder to stabilize your body."

No shit, Sherlock.

10/10, Phase II, Day 17

Another phase done and another workout notepad completely filled out. It survived two phases (VI and VII), eleven months of NRoL and one half of 10/10. There's this part of a quote I kinda remember from a long, long time ago: "An empty notebook is a sad notebook." Guess my notepad's one happy little bean now that it can retire.

10/10, Phase II, Day 16

With this phase finishing tomorrow, I've started looking into what exercises I'll be doing next week, and I can already tell I'm going to hate them. If it's not a one-armed this, it's a single-leg that. Basically, I'll be doing less than half the weight but enduring twice the suffering since I have to double each exercise... in a circuit. Is it too late to go back to NRoL?

10/10, Phase II, Day 15

Hmm, I guess I'm doing the right thing when the 100lbs. dumbbell I'm using is too allegedly too heavy (according to the trainer who "warned" me) for the bench I'm using so I could set up for my Declines. Well, at least this gives me a reason to switch to Seated dips the next time I do Hypertrophy. I can load the machine with as many plates as I need.

10/10, Phase II, Day 13

Saved by ibuprofen. Just the thing to stave off the soreness so I could get my workout today done, which was another surprisingly satisfying "light" day. First time in this phase my quads felt the burn from the Step-ups as my cardiovascular system seemed to be adapting. I remember dreading this exercise in NRoL especially as part of a superset with Bulgarian split squats. Fun times... not.

And here's something that happened to me yesterday on the way home from work. As I was making way down a flight of stairs in the train station, I saw a guy just standing and looking at me. I figured it was because I was wearing a snug t-shirt. Anyway, I tried to ignore him when he suddenly blurted out, "You've got big muscles," which was bad enough, but then he started saying--and I shit you not--"I love you, I love you, I love you."

Yikes.

10/10, Phase II, Day 12

As good my workout was two days ago, today's was the opposite. Not only was I sluggish, I was accident-prone, which could've been a very bad thing. Maybe my body thought it was done with Phase II already and was on vacation mode.

Now I'm eating oatmeal pancakes I brought with me for breakfast. Unfortunately, they've gotten soggy.

Not my day, today.

10/10, Phase II, Day 10

Slept in early last night; woke up rested and rejuvenated--for a change. I just have to survive one more three-fer next week.

10/10, Phase II, Day 9

I know something's up when I'm looking forward to my "light" workouts, which I've always hated doing before (and, I'm sure, I'll be complaining about again once the next fat loss phase starts up in two weeks). I'm missing my rest days a lot.

I'm also getting weary from my eating schedule, but thankfully the recipes in Muscle Chow have managed to keep a few of my meals interesting and flavorful.

10/10, Phase II, Day 8

No wonder Zercher squats can substitute for Front squats, which have been battering my anterior delts since last week. I've got a pair of bruises on my shoulders and still a pair of "Day A" workouts left to go. Oy.

On a brighter note, I finally made one 100lbs. set on the Decline DB bench presses, rounding out the DB flat bench I did last December and the DB inclines on the August before that. Difference between now and then is that my arms are able to handle the weights more stably. Hope to make three 3-rep sets (out of the 6) before this phase is through.

10/10, Phase II, Day 6

Worked out earlier than usual for a Saturday because of an out-the-blue 9am meeting, but luckily today's was the "light" workout, which I finished in under an hour mostly because I stuck to the prescribed rest periods. This, however, got me wondering if I'm lifting lighter just so I can recover fast enough to do the next exercise in the superset without gasping for breath or burning out. Getting the balance right has always been tough.

10/10, Phase II, Day 5

I really needed that break yesterday and am already looking forward to the next one this coming Sunday. The big difference when I was doing a 5x-a-week sked before is that the exercises were more isolated then instead of the compound/full body ones I'm doing now. I'm not quite ready to curse Waterbury's name yet as I have Cosgrove's, but I'm getting there. Maybe after I finish my Step-ups tomorrow.

10/10, Phase II, Day 3

Damn, I haven't done three consecutive lifting days in months, and I have two more workouts to go before the week is through.  I've gotten so used to forcing a break in between days during NRoL, but I guess that's a problem in itself. Good thing each 10/10 phase is only 3 weeks long. I'd hate to keep up this kind of schedule for 3 months like I used to do years ago.

10/10, Phase II, Day 2

Had to postpone taking my measurements until after I got home from work because of my morning workout schedule. If the gym opened before 6am, I'd seriously consider waking up even earlier if it meant I'm able to hog... I mean, use the equipment before everyone else since that's what the program prescribes. With the 30-90s rest periods in between sets, I'd like to make the most out of the circuits/supersets without someone interrupting the flow.

Height	5'3"	Mar 08
Weight	200 lbs.	-4 lbs.
Chest	43.5"	-0.5"
Neck	16.25"	no change
Upper Arms (unflexed)	15.75"/15.5"	no change/no change
Upper Arms (flexed)	16.375"/16.25"	no change/no change
Forearms	12.25"/12"	no change/no change
Waist at navel	39.75"	no change/no change
Hips	44.25"	-0.5"
Thighs	27"/27"	no change/no change
Calves	16.25"/16.125"	no change/no change

Not much to report except that these numbers are not consistent with how I'd normally take them, which is, first thing after I get out of bed (can't get any "colder" than that), but they're the best I've got. I am, however, glad about losing more weight despite stuffing more food and especially water down my gullet last month.