The Greatest Gainer

Back to the Beginning

2009-12-07T11:24:00.000-05:00

Weighing in at 147 lbs.

This is where I started. I'm a little frustrated. And when I say a little, I mean a lot. It's been two months and I'm not making any headway. The holidays have been a little crazy, I'll admit. And they're only going to get crazier from here on out. I think when I get back from vacation at the new year, I'm going to have to reevaluate my workout regiment. And my eating regiment, most likely, too. More to come....

Back and Better Than Ever

2009-11-23T08:31:00.000-05:00

Well, sort of. . . .

Weighing in at 148 lbs even.

I've slacked off the past couple weeks. But since mid-last-week I'm back on my regular three-day-a-week muscle building schedule, and two-day-a-week running schedule. The biggest new development is I've changed my running routine from long distance to sprints. 30-second sprints with a four-minute rest in between. I do this four times and (maybe I'm a wimp) by the fourth sprint I'm pretty winded. But it feels like I'm getting a better workout than before. And according to Eric's new science book, this routine will help muscle building and endurance in the long run.

More to report later.

2009-11-11T22:45:00.002-05:00

Body For Life, By Science

( 148, +3 lbs )

So I will most probably begin mixing approaches from two books now; Body For Life you already know about, and I referenced the other one briefly: Body By Science. I haven't read too far in the new book yet but the one remarkable claim that they've made so far is that short, intense interval training can yield the same benefits as long cardio workouts. This all fits with the picture that's emerging for me that intensity and pushing the limits are the most important thing about working out when you're trying to make physical gains (rather than just sort of maintain where you're at).

Scientific Discovery?

2009-11-06T07:30:00.001-05:00

Weighing in at 148 lbs.

In a recent conversation with Eric, we talked about how you build more muscle if you take one exercise and push yourself to the limits of that exercise rather than taking it easy and doing multiple sets. (To find out how scientifically accurate this is, you'll have to talk to Dr Peterson.) For example, doing pushups: it's better to do as many pushups as you can, rather than multiple sets of fewer pushups.

This was a good discovery as the Men's Health Body Weight 200 forces me to do exaclty that. My only problem is, as I mentioned earlier, I feel like I'm plateauing. So how do I continue to build muscle with the same workout? Looks like some modficications are due. Stay tuned....

Stabilizing Status

2009-11-05T08:34:00.002-05:00

Weighed in (yesterday) at 148 lbs.
Weighing in (today) at 148.5 lbs.
Moving average for the past three days: 148.5 lbs

This is 1.5 lbs more than my starting weight. Big plus. But not big enough....

2009-11-04T22:28:00.002-05:00

Slow Going

( 147, +2 lbs )

I've only managed to gain 2 pounds so far?! Maybe I need to go for more than 3000 calories. The thing is, at some point it really gets to be a pain to eat more (healthy) calories. I dunno. Any suggestions??

I do have a book called Scrawny to Brawny that might have some helpful tips--if I remember right, it called for a pretty insane diet of basically eating constantly.

2009-11-03T22:53:00.004-05:00

Science vs. Common Wisdom

( 147.5, +2.5 lbs )

To quote Han Solo, "I'm out of it for a little while, and everybody gets delusions of grandeur!" My body fat was NOT truly 6.5%, as I had thought at first. There must have been some kind of malfunction the first day I used it, because the next two measurements were 12.2% and 13.1%. That sounds more accurate, but also makes me want to burn off some more fat.

My friend at work mentioned a book called Body by Science that is supposed to debunk much of the common wisdom about working out. One thing he mentioned is that all the benefit from a workout can be had from doing one set of each exercise at high intensity, and that additional sets don't help. Also that it takes a week for your body to recover fully and workouts before that aren't helpful. I'm interested to check this book out so I ordered it on amazon and will let you know what I learn! I certainly welcome a way to get the same benefits and be more efficient about it.

Back on Track

2009-11-03T07:06:00.000-05:00

Weighing in at 149 lbs.

So Eric and I went away to Boston this weekend with a bunch of our friends for Halloween. I don't know about Eric, but that also means I went away from my workout routine. But now I'm back and on my schedule and hopefully putting on those pounds! The only problem is, I'm beginning to plateau, one reason I think my weight fluctuates so much. It looks like I'll have to start adding weights or resistance bands to my Body Weight 200 regiment. I'll keep you posted!

2009-10-29T00:47:00.003-04:00

No Pain, No Gain

( 148, +3 lbs )

So I am also doing the 3-day moving average as Russell mentioned, and I've decided to just round things to the nearest half pound for simplicity. So far, I'm 3 pounds up! We'll see if it sticks.

I think ab exercises involve more pain than any other exercise in my routine. I wonder why that is? Clenching those muscles over and over...ouch. But then, the thought of a nice six pack comes into my mind, and the pain is going to be worth it!

The Accurate Average

2009-10-28T15:37:00.000-04:00

Weighing in at 147.625 lbs.

Wow! We're just getting more and more average-y accurate, aren't we? This is my moving average for the past three days. As for my body fat count--I couldn't even begin to guess. What's the body fat count of a twig?

2009-10-27T23:11:00.004-04:00

Lean and Not So Mean

(w: 146.4, +1.4 lbs)

Today when I strolled into the gym at 6:30am I asked the people at the front desk if they could do a body fat measurement. "Sure!", said the attractive woman who I always see working there (aren't gym trainers always attractive?) She led me upstairs and there gleaming in the corner of the office was the Deluxe Scale 9000. After putting in my age, height and activity level it spit out my weight (to four decimal places!) and then used an electric current to estimate my body fat percentage. What was the number that came back? SIX POINT FIVE PERCENT. I am not making this up. Now I don't really believe my body fat level is that low, but still. I am pretty lean, apparently. And I better stay that way as I put on the ten pounds and win this contest!

Double Decimal Digits

2009-10-27T23:09:00.000-04:00

Weighing in at 147.75 lbs.

I guess now that I'm taking averages, we're going to start seeing some more accurate numbers (if an average can be considered an accurate number. . . .). So this is my average weight for the past two days. Tomorrow I'll do three days, and three days from here on out. Eric calls this a "moving average."

2009-10-26T23:54:00.005-04:00

AWOL

Russell is right! Where have I been?? All I have is a bag full of excuses and no weight gain to show for it. Last week I let things go with jury duty but tomorrow I am back in the gym and going for it!

Luckily I can report that I've been faithful to my diet, although I still want to up the calories a little bit...my goal is to hit 3000 a day and get something like 200g of protein. Maybe even that is not enough. We'll see!

Straight Weight Monday

2009-10-26T16:33:00.000-04:00

Weighing in at 149 lbs even.

Straight weight, no averaging yet. I'll start that tomorrow, taking today into account.

Being Average

2009-10-23T18:54:00.000-04:00

Weighing in at 148 lbs.
At least I'm evening out.

I talked to Eric about fluctuating weight, and he gave me a big spiel about how the market fluctuates, so to get the best stable price they average three consecutive days together. I think I'm gonna start doing. . . . Starting next week.

Movin on . . . Down?

2009-10-22T09:02:00.000-04:00

Weighing in at . . . 146.5 lbs?
Maybe I need to eat more?

I found one of the hardest things about working out is waking up. I work out in the mornings--first thing. Once I'm exercising I feel fine. Once I'm done I feel great! But actually getting out of bed, climbing down from my loft and getting dressed, I feel like a living corpse--half dead and wanting nothing more than to just crawl back in my bed and drift off into sweet sweet slumber! The only (and I mean only) thing that keeps me going is remembering how good it feels to get my blood flowing.

So if you're having trouble working out, just focus on how good it feels afterward. You've done something. You've accomplished something. And you're a better and healthier person for it!

Movin' on Up!

2009-10-21T10:39:00.000-04:00

Weighing in at 150.5 lbs.
Where's Eric? Is he even in this contest anymore?
I'm looking fuller, but it's hard to tell if it's muscle. At least I'm not anorexic anymore. . . .

Pounds or Potatoes?

2009-10-19T09:52:00.003-04:00

Weighing in at 149.5 lbs
2.5 lbs is a big gain! I'm hoping it's muscle, but it might be the four servings of gnocchi I ate last night. . . .

Seen at the Gym...

2009-10-17T19:28:00.005-04:00

The NYSC gym I work out at had this advertisement up by the exit. For Russell and I, the "Fact" here isn't a threat... it's a promise!

In the Beginning....

2009-10-14T08:47:00.008-04:00

Name: Russell Shaffer

Age: 30

Height: 5’8”

Weight: 147 lbs

Occupation: Writer

Workout Regiment: (1) Men’s Health Body-Weight 200 -- a 200-rep at-home workout consisting of squats, pushups, jumps, leg curls, Swiss ball pikes, step ups, pull-ups, chin-ups, lunges, inverted rows and chin-ups. (2) Running 1 mile.

Frequency: Alternating days, 6 days a week

Food Staples: Pasta, bread, oatmeal, eggs, cheese, milk, cottage cheese, chicken, beef, apples, bananas, tomatoes, green beans, corn.

Name: Eric Peterson

Age: 31

Height: 5’8”

Weight: 145 lbs

Occupation: Wall Street "Quant"

Workout Regiment: (1) Alternating lower and upper body workouts at New York Sports Club in Greenwich. I use the Body-for-Life pattern of reps: 12-10-8-6-12-12, with increasing intensity in each set. (2) Cycling (or cardio machines when it's too cold outside!) iTunes gave away an OK Go treadmill mix awhile ago and I use that--it's an interval training method that alternates between intense intervals of going all out and then periods of recovery between. I love it!

Frequency: Alternating days of training and cardio, 6 days a week

Food Staples: Cottage cheese, yogurt, eggs, Clif bars, lean turkey, ham and chicken.

Official Greatest Gainer Scale

Conair Corp. Thinner Model #TH204W

May the Greatest Gainer win!