#30dayfitnesschallenge July 3 Exercise Log

I started doing my Leg Program.  I am planning to do it for 15 days instead of just for a week.  I also realized that I need to set the weights properly for each exercise. I lifted heavy that day and boy, I was sore.

Here is what I did:
Squats + Alternating Deltoid Raise - 5 Reps Each 3 sets
1st Set : 130 kg squats + 20kg Raises
2nd Set: 150 kg squats + 20
3rd set 160 kg + 20 kg

160 kg is like double my ideal body weight but it is just around 1.75 times my current weight.  It is a good start but I felt that my body was really challenged when I added the Alternating Deltoid Raises. I do not usually do a superset with my squats.

2nd Exercise Pairing:
Romanian Deadlifts + Bent Over Two-Dumbell Row with Palms In 
70Kg Deadlifts + 25 Kg Rows for 5 reps each x 3 Reps

The pairing made me realize that I was ignoring my hamstrings for quite a while. This realization made me extend my routine for another week.  Everytime I will do Leg day, I will make sure that my hamstrings are activated. 

Post Mortem: The next day, my hamstrings were really sore. The pain made me feel good because I discovered something new. I somehow discovered that I have a big muscle at the back side of my thighs that needs exercise. I am modifying my workout to improve my capability in lifting heavier weights in deadlifts, squats, and rows.  

posted from Bloggeroid

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#30dayfitnesschallenge Food Diary: July 2,2014

I have started my #30dayfitnesschallenge.  One of its key elements is the diet.  It is hard to maximize weight loss if you do not make changes in the diet. One of the main source of carbohydrates for Filipinos is the rice. Rice is not bad for your health.  It is actually one of the most excellent of sources of energy.  The problem starts when people overeat and forget to exercise.

It is easy to overeat rice.  It goes so well with any kind of viand. It actually has a positive effect on the appetite of many people that it causes them to overeat. People can only eat as much lechon if eaten without rice but when rice is put in the equation, it is a different story.  I am challenging myself to somehow eliminate or minimize rice in my diet.

It is not that easy.  It is to kick rice from breakfast because you can either just eat oatmeal or wheat bread. It is harder to eat rice for lunch and dinner.  It is quite hard to find a meal in the Philippines that will have no rice while being also easy on the budget.

At the end of first 2 days of the month, I have not eaten any rice yet but I think I ended up eating more fattening food because of budget constraints. I still consider it as a minor achievement. I had taco salad for lunch with pancit palabok. I lifted heavy earlier so I needed something to replenish my energy.

I ate a burger meal for dinner because I was waiting for my wife in her school and there was no else to stay but McDonald's.   I ordered a Cheeseburger de luxe meal with small fries and drinks for 99 pesos.

It is very challenging to find suitable meals that will be budget friendly. That will be part of my #30dayfitnessdaychallenge. One of my secondary objectives for the challenge is to find meals that could fit the lifestyle change without spending more than usual. I need to find meals for people who do not have time or access to prepare their own food.

posted from Bloggeroid

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#30dayfitnesschallenge Day 1: Measurements Day

Today, I measured myself so that I will quantify the results of my 30 day fitness challenge. I weighed myself and I am surprised I am back to over 90 kilos. I am now at 93.1 kilos. My goal for the month is to weight at most 88.5 kilos. It will be a big challenge because I also have responsibilities at work but I accept the challenge.  I also measured my waist, chest, thighs, wrists, neck, etc. so that I can track my progress properly. I already took a picture mod myself which will be posted on a later date.

Meal Summary:

Breakfast: I did not eat rice.  I ate a bowl of oatmeal with a little honey and fat-free milk.  I also had two pieces small pan de sal with 2 slices of luncheon meat.

Lunch: I ate 2 pieces of chicken wings, a serving of spaghetti, 1 rice.

Snacks: 2 pieces of bread (Spanish Bread and Cheese Bread)

Dinner: No Rice, Sotanghon Soup, 1 fried pork chop.

The good thing about today is that I only ate 1 cup of rice.  While I ate other forms of carbs I would say that eating only a cup rice is in a way in achievement for me. I love rice and in some days I can finish 3-4 cups in one meal. It is hard to get rid of fried food but I will try to minimise my intake. Fried food is the "go-to" food for many people because frying is the easiest and fastest way to cook food. I also have to train our helper to have other options in cooking dishes. I might try to teach her how to cook a pasta dish this coming weekend.

Exercise Summary:

For exercise, I only did 2 caloy burpees which is part of my other 30 day challenge. I trained new sales agents today so I was not able to go to the gym. Most of physical activity involved talking and teaching my new sales team. I was able to have a nap early in the evening.

Day 2 Expectations: Tomorrow, I will be going to the gym in the morning. I will start my leg week program.  I also expect to do at least 4 caloy burpees. I will most likely eat breakfast and dinner at home. For lunch, I will try to look for a place will have a lot of veggies and I will try not to eat rice. 

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June 30, 2014: The Eve of my #30dayfitnesschallenge

Today is the last day before I start a very challenging chapter in my life.  It is not going to be easy but somehow tonight is a night to celebrate. It is time to splurge and enjoy the last night of being unhealthy. Today, I ate junk food.  I ate fried food. I a lot of rice.

This is going to be exciting.  Tomorrow is a new month and it will bring in marvelous changes. I will make sure that I will hit the results that I intend to achieve. Here are the important dates for this month:

July 1: Establishing Benchmarks
July 5: First Weekly Test
July 12: 2nd Weekly Test
July 16: The midpoint
July 19: 3rd Weekly Test
July 26: Finals
July 31: Final Results

July 1 will involve measurements and setting of goals. The weekly tests will involve testing myself how many pull-ups I can make and other fitness benchmarks. The midpoint will involve a lot of measurements as well same as the final test.  This blog will have at least one entry everyday about this #30dayfitnesschallenge and I will also post something on Instagram regarding this endeavour as well.

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#30dayfitnesschallenge: July Week 1 Weights Program

English: an exercise of hip and thigh (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The focus for Week 1 will be the Legs.  For 3 days this week, I will give my legs an intense workout. Why legs? Well, strength comes with a good base. Having strong legs will help me perform heavy sets for my back and other main muscle groups.  The legs brings a lot of power.  Developing my legs will help me lose a lot of weight this month but also gain muscles. The leg are usually ignored by many people.  They go to to the gym just to do bicep curls or bench press.  It is important to develop the legs for a more balanced development.  I see a lot of "fitness fanatics" who have chicken legs and I am not intending to be one of them.

The leg exercises often have the heaviest loads among the other major muscle group.  Leg exercises usually engages other muscle groups which would contribute greatly in helping me gain more muscle and lose a lot of fat in my body.  The two major parts of the legs would be the quadriceps and the hamstrings.  I need engage the two in this routine.

Warm-up: Caloy Burpees 30 day challenge (2 x Date)
Exercise 1: Barbell Squats (5 Set pyramid 9-7-5-3-1)
Exercise 2: Alternating Deltoid Raise (5 x 5)
Exercise 3: Romanian Deadlift(5 Set 9-7-5-3-1)
Exercise 4: Bent Over Two-Dumbell Row with Palms In (5 x 5)
Exercise 5: Barbell Lunges (7-6-5-4-3 per leg)
Exercise 6: Dumbell Chest Press (5 X 5 - different angles)
Exercise 7: Bonus - Power Clean (to failure)

The main focus for now is developing strength and power. I will try improve my heaviest set every session. This program would probably just take around 30 minutes to finish. Exercise 1 and 2 will be supersets along with 3+4 and 5+6.  There will be a 1 minute rest per superset and 2 minutes to move to the next superset.

Another aspect of my #30dayfitnesschallenge would be the #30daybloggingchallenge which is to write everyday about this 30 day fitness challenge. It will be interesting to see if I can really track down and write for 30 straight days about the different things I did to get results.

Good luck to me and hopefully, this would work!

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