Fitness Journal #13 – Body and Weights Progress

Warning : This post contains images of myself TOPLESS. If you find the idea of me topless extremely disturbing, STOP READING NOW. I WARNED YOU. I repeat, stop reading!!

Fitness Journal #12 – Reboot

Wow the last fitness journal was so long ago. Anyway I’m back! With more personal updates that noone will read besides myself.

I did gym quite a bit in the US but for some reasons didn’t really make much progress. Then I stopped by gym sessions last year during Thanksgiving period, and didn’t gym again till February this year. After not gymming for so long, my muscles were all weak again and I had to start from scratch in progressing my lifts 😦

Anyway, it’s been about 2 months since then, and I’ve been trying to regain my original weight of 68kg (I actually dropped to below 66kg. The horrors!), and now being fairly close (67.7 for over a week) I’m going to stop trying, and start bulking! The goal is to get rid of my tummy heh. Cardio and diet here I come! Target weight is 65kg before I start eating more again.

As for my weights, here are my improvements: (First number was what I started at)

Bench Press : 45kg -> 55kg

Machine Flies: 27kg -> 41kg

Hammer Curls: 8kg -> 12kg

Forearm Swinging Curls: 10kg -> 12kg

Squats : 40kg -> 45kg (barely did this, will prob do it more since I want more cardio)

Shoulder Press : 22.5kg -> 37.5kg 

Deadlift – 50kg – 65kg – 50kg (I started doing just 1×5, but now I’m switching to a 3×5 routine)

I really want to get my bench press up, with the target weight being my body weight. Will take a while more though, I think I’ll take another 2-3 weeks to bring it above 60kg. As for Squats, I think I’ll start doing them every session if the gym permits.. I hate waiting for machines and the Squat rack where I go always seems occupied. If have to wait too long I won’t.

I have some photos taken too, but I will post them together when I hit 65kg heh. Ok bye

Fitness Journal #11 – A Home Gym

My blog has been getting a surge of visitors because it is bidding season in NUS and everyone is googling for reviews, so I should probably be blogging more interesting stuff.. but SORRY NO TIME NO INSPIRATION.

Anyway, this blog entry has to do with my whole fitness thingy so sorry if it bores you.

So I was just wondering how much would it cost to set up a mini gym at home – with a power rack and a barbell and some free weights. Checked out the prices at NutritionPark.com and I was pleasant surprised:

All images from Nutritionpark.com

1) Squat/Power Rack @ $499.00

Male Model not included

Bare minimum. Of course, this would require a bench:

2) Bench @ $250

Made of gold, that’s why so expensive

Siao ah! One bench cost so much -_- Can probably get a normal bench for $50 or less from furniture shop.

3) Barbell Bar @ $29.90

Pretty much mandatory, if I want to do bench/squats, etc

4) Weights @ $171.60

10kg  – $29.80 x 4 = $119.20

5kg – $14.90 x 2 = $29.80

2.5kg – $7.50 x 2 = $15

1.25kg – $3.80 x 2 = $7.60

Total – $171.60

 

And I’ll probably have to get some additional stuff like a padded floor (just like a thick cushiony floor mat), a cushion for when I’m doing squats with the bar, etc. But for this current list, the total cost is : $171.60 + $29.90 + $250 + $499.90 = $951.4!

Taking each gym entry to cost $2.50, plus transport cost of $1.50 each time I go for a total of $4 each gym session, it would take 238 gym sessions to make up this cost, and assuming 3-4 sessions a week, that’s about 68 weeks, or 1 year 4 months to make up the cost!!

Not bad eh! Long term investment. hmmm…

Fitness Journal #10 – Before and After

Warning : This post contains images of myself TOPLESS. If you find the idea of me topless extremely disturbing, STOP READING NOW. I WARNED YOU.

I repeat, stop reading!!

Ok la I’m actually shy. Please don’t laugh at my skinny body k.

Fitness Journal #9 – Pet Peeves

I am quite the newbie at gymming, having only started gymming 2 months+ ago, but being the bitchy judgemental observant person I am, I already have some pet peeves in the gym.

From cartoonstock.com

Fitness Journal #8 – How to be a Spotter

Any serious gym user (when I say serious I mean someone who really wants to progress in his lifts and build muscle and goes regularly, 3x a week or more)  will know the importance of a spotter.

For the unfamiliar, a spotter is a person who watches over you when you are lifting a weight, and helps to support/assist you when you need help. For example, when doing a bench press, the spotter stands behind you with his hands below the bar as you lift, and if you’re struggling he will assist you.

The biggest reason why you kinda need a spotter is when you are lifting something heavy and you’re trying to go all out – you don’t want to be caught under that weight with no way to get it off if you fail to lift it.

The feeling is actually quite terrifying. You feel stuck, trapped, and helpless because you have used up every bit of energy in your arms to try to lift the weight. Of course, there’s a way to get out of it (roll of shame), so it’s not like a GG you’re-screwed scenario.

Fitness Journal #7 – Body parts

This entry is going to be me talking like a self-absorbed narcissist, so please don’t read it!

 

Fitness Journal #6

I’ve been lifting weights for about a month now, and have been on my current training program for about 3 weeks. (The first week of weights was like random) The program of choice is Stronglifts 5×5, and it looks like this:

Workout A
Squats 5×5
Bench Press 5×5
Barbell Rows 5×5

Workout B
Squats 5×5
Shoulder Press 5×5
Deadlifts 1×5

So you basically alternate between A and B every workout, adding 2.5kg each workout.

For the first 2 weeks + or so, I felt I wasn’t really benefiting much from the workouts, because the weights were too light (It is recommended that you start with an empty bar, 20kg). I would leave the gym feeling having accomplished something (like some psychological effect), but my body wouldn’t feel tired at all.

Recently, the weights are getting heavier, so I do feel a bit more tired after each workout. My current weights are posted here (all + about 2.5/5kg since that was a few workouts ago).

I’ve began to modify each workout abit to add in some accessory exercises because I am a vainpot and I want to have nicer ____ (fill in any body part). For example, I end off every workout with some arm work which can be forearm curls, bicep curls, tricep curls, etc. I’ve also replaced Barbell Rows with Chin ups, because they basically train the same area and I feel I’m somehow not doing Barbell rows with proper form as I don’t feel the strain on my back at all (but more of my quads).

I’ve also taken to adding ab-work every workout, as well as doing benchpress every work out (instead of every other workout). Come on body bulk up!

Cardio is a bitch really… I would gladly do twice the lifting than do a session of cardio. But I need to do cardio because of this stupid blob of flat called my tummy/belly/paunch. I will be alternating between HIIT (30/60 sprint/jogs) and 20 min jogs. Hope to be doing cardio 3 times a week… though it’s soooo tempting to just skip one, unlike weights which I will never skip because of lack of discipline because I enjoy it!

 

Sorry for really boring blog posts haha I’ll try to write more interesting stuff next time. But I do want to chronicle my progress and process, thus all these Fitness Journals! Next post probably has to do with something personal, so stay tuned for that 😉

 

Fitness Journal #5 – Stalled!

There is a term in weight-lifting known as ‘stalling’, which refers to when you are unable to progress on a particular weight on a progressive weight programme.

For example, in my routine I try to increase the weight I lift by 2.5 KG every session, with 5 sets of 5 reps each time. Then let’s say in one session I am unable to complete all 5 sets (e.g. 3 or 4 reps only one on one of the sets) then I have ‘stalled’.

I started my routine about 2 weeks ago, following the Stronglifts 5×5 program (go Google). I started light, with 20kg for bench, squats and 15 for barbell rows, and 30 for deadlifts(only started this one week in, because I was scared of doing it wrong).

I’ve recently began to add additional workouts because 3 exercises just didn’t feel tiring enough and I didn’t feel my body was getting a workout. And I wasn’t observing and size gains, etc.

My current weights for the exercises are:

• Squats (40kg) (Still can increase, I think my 1 RM (max) is about 50-60?)
• Barbell Rows (22.5kg) (Still can increase)
• Deadlifts (35kg) (Still can increase waaay more)
• Overhead Press (20kg) (Stalled for one session, next session was easy)
• Bench Press (37.5kg)  (Still can increase)
• Yes I know they’re all very low I’m a small and scrawny guy okayyy

Today I tried 40kg for Bench for the first time… and in my third rep of my second set, I suddenly couldn’t lift it ! I let my arm relax slightly and I suddenly felt the entire weight pressing on my chest and felt a wave of panic surge through me. It’s like being pinned down and you cannot move!

I quickly recovered and did a Roll of Shame to get out of it. Whew! Uninjured.
For a quick video of what a roll of shame is:

It was odd as I completed the rest of the sets : 5 3 5 5 4 (completed 5 reps of 3rd and 4th set), so I’m not sure why I couldn’t finish the 2nd set. I think I was doing it too slowly and trying to feel the strain as I used to always do.

I’m going to try 40KG again next week, hopefully I’ll be able to do it without stalling again. Any one wants to gym with me to be my spotter? I go to Toa Payoh / Hougang ClubFitt gym on Tues, Thurs, Sat, 12PM!

Fitness Journal #4 – Achievement Unlocked!

I’ve always been a skinny kid – ever since I was a little boy, I was small and skinny. When I had my growth spurt in lower secondary, I shot up, but I was still stick-like. I had those skinny 6 pack abs that every skinny guy who exercises has.

Not like these, these are muscular 6 pack abs, not skinny guy 6 pack abs

Anyway, back to my main point – I have always been skinny. Along with being skinny, my weight has never crossed the magical 64kg barrier. I’m not sure why, but the most I ever weighed in at was 64kg, and I would waiver there, and fluctuate down. And since my uni years I’ve been about 60ish.

Today, after about 2-3 weeks of a 5-6 meals a day diet (my diet is here), I decided to weigh myself when I came home…

65KG!

Woohoo!

Now I’m debating whether to continue pushing and try to hit my target weight of 70KG, or to start to add in cardio to my routine (atm just doing weight training 3x a week) and try to cut down my body fat while maintaining my weight. I’m leaning towards the latter, but I’m just afraid later I lose back down to 59kg then back to square one lol! But ok la, shouldn’t, with my eating extra everyday. Gogogo wish me luck!