New Start - Days 1-2

Monday worked out fairly well. Jenn and I got up at 5:15 in the morning and made our way to the gym. I stuck with a workout similar to that prescribed in the Body For Life plan, but changed it up to something a little more comfortable for me. The Body For Life plan calls for you to work either your entire upper or lower body in one session. You do sets of 12, 10, 8, 6, 12, and 12 in one muscle group and then move to another muscle. For example, you can do the dumbbell press for 12, 10, 8, 6, 12 reps and then do another chest exercise with no rest for the last rep of 12. I didn’t do that. I go for 2 exercises at 12, 10, 8, 6. It just works better for me. Here was the workout and weights used. Don’t laugh at the weights: I’m starting over, you know.

Chest
Dumbbell press
12 reps @ 25 pounds
10 @ 30
8 @ 35
6 @ 40
Incline press
12 @ 20
10 @ 25
8 @ 30
6 @ 35

Shoulders
Shoulder press
12 @ 20
10 @ 25
8 @ 30
6 @ 35
Shoulder raise
12 @ 10
10 @ 12.5
8 @ 15
6 @ 17.5

Triceps
Bar Dip (with weight assist)
12 @ -115
10 @ -100
8 @ -95
6 @ -85
Tricep Pulldown
12 @ 22.5 kgs
10 @ 27.5
8 @ 32.5
6 @ 37.5

Biceps
Chin up (with weight assist)
12 @ -100
10 @ -95
8 @ -90
6 @ -85
Hammer curls
12 @ 20

Then twenty minutes on the elliptical runner doing intervals.

Two points about the workout:

1. You’ll notice that I only did one set of hammer curls. Well, I ran out of time. I need to manage my time better.
2. I didn’t do my back. Well, umm…I forgot to do it. By the time I remembered to do it, someone had already taken the bench I was using. I had to move on.

I need to get to sleep and get up earlier to be sure that I complete the entire workout.

This morning’s workout was a 2.1 mile run. Again this is taken from Body for Life. In the Body for Life plan you only need 20 minutes of cardio on your cardio days. The 2.1 mile run should have been about 20 minutes, but I’m really slow and some of it was uphill so it took roughly 30. My runs will deviate from Body for Life as I get closer to the half-marathon.

As for eating, yesterday I ate pretty healthy. The one problem I noticed is that I didn’t get enough protein as I need. I’ll solve that by adding Myoplex (EAS brand nutrition shake) back into my diet after Phase 1 is over, but until then I need to add protein on my own. Today’s eating is regimented as well, with eggs this morning for breakfast and veggies with turkey in the afternoon.

For information on any of the plans I’ve mentioned so far here are the links:

1. South Beach Diet
   
2. Body For Life
   

One important note for both of these plans is that they require lifestyle changes. It’s not just a get-thin-quick plan. Those diets never work because you don’t change the original habits. These two plans both require us to change our eating habits and workouts. Don’t bother trying them if you are not willing to change your lifestyle. You’ll just wind up spending money for nothing. Trust me, I’ve tried them all and only once have I succeeded, and even then it was temporary. The reason I’ve failed so much in the past is because I’ve been unable to change the old habits. If you have any input or knowledge you can add, please do: I’d really appreciate it! I’ll see you here tomorrow.