2008 November | Look At My Muscles
Nov 16

I had all 4 of my wisdom teeth pulled out a few days ago, and have been on a soft food diet ever since. It’s been an interesting reflection of the foods I usually eat and crave, compared to what’s available and convenient for me to prepare in a soft-food form. I haven’t been to the gym at all, and will probably miss a little over a week of workouts, but as mentioned in a previous post, a break every couple of months can be good for a lifting regiment.

I haven’t checked to see how much weight I’ve lost in the last 3 days, but I imagine by the time I’m eating solid food again next Thursday, that it’ll have been a few pounds. Since soft food isn’t as readily available as most processed and fast food though, I’ve actually been eating pretty cleanly. Protein shakes are the easiest and most familiar food so I’ve been having about 2 of those a day. Otherwise, my wife has been making soups and porridges and then sticking them in the blender. Overall it’s been a very low-calorie, high protein diet that I doubt I would ever be able to stick to if it weren’t a necessity. This experience has shown me how much better I could eat though if i were more dedicated to having a perfect diet.

Nov 2
Focusing On the Core
icon1 admin | icon2 Abs, Cardio | icon4 11 2nd, 2008| icon32 Comments »

My workouts have been a bit all over the place lately. I try to get in at least 2 strong major muscle group workouts (back/tri & chest/bi) with Eric in each week, and by myself I’ve been going almost every day, focusing on muscle groups I’ve been neglecting.

The biggest areas that I’d like to improve are my legs and my midsection. I’ve been spending the most time working on the abs, obliques and lower back and while I’m seeing some good results, core workouts really are the worst. I don’t know if its that the ab muscles produce more lactic acid or what, but they hurt like hell when I work them, and I’m sore and hunched over when they’re recovering.  Legs are also just unpleasant to workout (and recover from) and this is obviously why they’ve been neglected. But hopefully the extra time I’ve been putting in at the gym will pay off.

Like I’ve mentioned in previous posts, you need to have a low body fat percentage to notice even well developed abs. So along with keeping an eye on calories (particularly fat), I’ve been running on the treadmill for 1-2 miles every other day. Like ab and leg workouts, I hate running (and I have knee problems), but as its become a more regular part of my routine I’ve gotten used to it. I’ve found that the treadmill is one of the best ways to do cardio, because the belt is gonna move at the speed you set it at, and unlike the elyptical or bicycle machines, if you stop running you’re gonna get fucked up. Maybe next Spring I’ll have those ripped abs I’ve always wanted.