SLI, Day A, Workout 7

I'm glad I had the luxury of time this Sunday afternoon to do my Squats where I finally reached my first target of 274lbs. While it's nowhere near my previous numbers, it's nonetheless a personal record at my current weight. From this point on, I'll be adding only 5lbs. at a time to spread out the progression.

After my workout, I treated myself to a long overdue massage that loosened the knots in my upper back and traps. I just wish I could just teleport myself home right after the session so my nap doesn't get interrupted.

SLI, Day B, Workout 6

Yesterday I hit my ceiling for Barbell shoulder presses (a far cry from what I used to do before), but I think I can squeeze a little more out of my Squats, which I'll go for my next workout that I need to bring forward by a day because the gym will be opening later-than-usual again on Monday.

Also, so much for the kilogram I put on last week, which I had expected to have stuck around since I've slowly been increasing my caloric intake. Weird thing is while my pants have been getting a little more snug, especially around the thighs,  I've noticed more loose skin around my waist and hips.

SLI, Day A, Workout 6

Hmm, I missed writing about my Wednesday workout, again, and for the very same reason as last week's, but I haven't missed a workout yet mostly thanks to getting it done before going to work.

SLI, Day B, Workout 5

I'll decide on Friday whether I'll stick to StrongLifts or move to Advanced since it's only been yesterday when my Squats have started to get "interesting" again. Since I started the program, I've been adding 10lbs. per session which I'll keep this up for this week before I switch to adding the regular 5lbs.

SLI, Day A, Workout 5

Came home really late last night from a night out with my mates at the office. We went to a music bar/restaurant where I had a ultra-mega-cheat meal of fries, cheese sticks, quesadillas, a cheeseburger topped off with 4 bottles of beer, which got me pretty tipsy, but I kept my wits about by drinking a lot of water to flush the alcohol out of my system, and I woke up this morning hangover-free.

Unfortunately, all these affected this week's weigh-in where I put on a kilogram, which should hopefully stave off people's comments about me being "too thin" these days.

SLI, Day B, Workout 4

Didn't get to write about my workout two days ago with work being a bitch this week where it looks like my pathetic grip™ has made a comeback. Somebody did point out earlier in the week that my forearms have gotten slightly smaller, and the thing is, I only get to deadlift once or twice a week and with only 1 set (after the warm-up) at that. Guess it's time to bring out the chalk.

SLI, Day A, Workout 4

Although it still takes a while for my right knee to warm up, I learned that I can keep it from bothering me when I really stick to my Squat form that relies on  glutes and hams rather than the quads for the support and drive.

At the end of the workout, I'll be adding Leg raises so I can also hit my lower abs as my core seems to have caught up with what I've been doing.

SLI, Day B, Workout 3

I'm just two sessions away from squatting 1.5x my body weight, which seems to be StrongLift's threshold, and though technically I can switch to StrongLifts Advanced next Friday, I'll probably keep with the program for a while longer to round the month.

SLI, Day A, Workout 3

Internet connection at home died a couple of days ago, and I was unable to blog about Wednesday's workout where I tried out a single 224lbs. Bench press rep to see where my strength levels were at, and although it was a far cry from my old 1RM, I'm hoping in time I'll be able to hit that record again at my current bodyweight.

SLI, Day B, Workout 2

Yesterday's workout went mostly OK except for how slow my right knee is getting used to doing Squats again. It takes about 2 sets after the warm-up for it to warm up, and I'm hoping it'll be able to manage once I start putting 4 plates, and I'm taking my time getting there.

Last Tuesday, on a whim I decided to join a Spinning class for cardio, and I'll be keeping this up weekly until the end of the month at the least. For one thing, since its sked is lunchtime, I don't have to wake up early on Tuesdays for the duration. Also, it's something I haven't done for a long while, and I'm always looking for something "new" to do, even though I'd already done it before.

SLI, Day A, Workout 2

Oh boy, I really did a number on my abs when I decided to make the Abs wheel exercise harder by pausing at the bottom of the rep by 2 counts, and I not only had to switch to yoga on Thursday, I had to postpone Friday's workout by a day just to give me a little more time to recover. And to top it off, this morning when I woke up, I had a gastronomic episode, which thankfully went away after I rested for a couple of hours. (Still don't know what I drank/ate last night that triggered it.) In any case, I was pretty thankful that my workouts are still on the light side or else I may have had to postpone again.

After my workout, I talked to the trainer who's been advising me for the past year and so, and he gave me some powerlifting goals I could go for in the next 3 to maybe even 6 months. The big difference between this and last year's SL program is I'll be doing more cardio, which hopefully will bring me down to the 67.5 weight class and keep me there.

StrongLifts 5x5, Day B, Workout 1

I decided to substitute a couple of exercises in the new SL program. In Day A, I put back in Weighted dips since I'll get a lot more out of it than regular push-ups (haven't tried Weighted push-ups yet though), and in Day B, I'll be hitting my core with the Abs Wheel rather than with Prone bridges, which I turned to Side bridges so I can work my obliques afterwards.

Maybe I'll switch these back after I hit my max weights/reps in the "Big 3" (Squats, Deadlifts and Bench Presses).

StrongLifts 5x5, Day A, Workout 1

Well, I've picked what program I'll be following for the next few months, and while I've done StrongLifts before, there are three differences: (1) Medhi tweaked the original program (for example, he replaced Barbell bent over rows with Inverted rows),  (2) I'm 40lbs. lighter and noticeably weaker in some exercises, and (3) based on my workout last Saturday, my lifting technique has changed (I seem to use my abs less).

Physiologically speaking, I'm not the same person I was a year ago, and in light of this, I'm starting off this program lighter than I would have ever considered. Thankfully, I've gotten out of my system Mr. Macho's need to go heavy on the onset, and it's just a matter of time before I'll be squatting twice my body weight again. Better to be patient than become a patient.

I went back to the gym two days ago to do some yoga after a week off lifting, and this morning I did some exercises to see how much weaker I've gotten from losing 8 lbs. in July, and it's going to be an uphill battle getting back my strength while keeping myself lean in the process. Also, I have take it easy with my right knee as it's doing what my left knee did last year, but I hope it, too, will get better if I keep my Squat form clean.

Height	5'3"	Jul 09
Weight	154 lbs.	-8 lbs.
Chest	39"	-1"
Neck	15"	-0.25"
Upper Arms (unflexed)	14"/13.75"	-0.25"/-0.25"
Upper Arms (flexed)	14.75"/14.5"	-0.25"/-0.25"
Forearms	11.25"/11"	-0.25"/-0.25"
Waist at navel	30.5"	-2"
Hips	37.5"	-1"
Thighs	23"/23"	-0.5"/-0.5"
Calves	14.25"/14.25"	-0.75"/-0.75"

Comments

• Just when I thought I wasn't going to lose more weight, my body proves me wrong, and now I'm probably at the smallest I've ever been in 20 years. I've been wearing pairs of pants I never thought I'd get my ass into again, and yesterday somebody said I was "too thin", and based on the loose skin around my abs, I'd have to agree. 
  
• Which is why I have to choose which weight class I wanna stay in. I went as low as 151 lbs. in the middle of the week, and that's just 3 lbs. over 67.5kg weight class. Or, I can work my way back up to 160 lbs. over the next 8-12 months. I'll have to talk to the trainer on Monday and get his advice.
  

Addendum (2 Aug 09)

Thought I'd slip in a new pic comparing how I looked before I started 10/10 in May and another one of me a year ago. Funny how low my shorts got.