1. Forearms: 73lb/ 57 lb/ 38 lb dumbells

 

2.  Upper arms: 50 lb dumbbells

 

3. Shoulders: 78 lbs/47 lbs dumbbells

 

 

-I'm capping my dumbells at 63 lbs due to the joint pressure.

 

-goals: hitting 63 lbs for all groups, maintain light/medium workouts for upper arms.

 

-Work out 5 days a week with 2 rest days.  hit shoulders/forearms twice a week

1. Forearms: 63lb/ 63 lb/ 48 lb dumbells

 

2. upper arms: 55 lbs.

 

3. Shoulders: 63 lbs/63/45 lbs dumbbells

 

-limit: 63 lbs for joint protection.  if this is not enough, might have to drop it down to 57 lbs.

 

**when I'm ready, I'm going to cap both at 63 lbs and swing two at once.

I fell off track for the past 3 weeks in my eating.  My exercise however, has been on point.

 

- Ice cream, cake, bread, treats, and even too much "mung"

 

-Current weight: 152.5 lbs- I regained some weight.  Goal: drop to 145.

 

**Reinforce diet habit:

 

800 calories (2 x small meals)

 

Only 300 calories of carbs in the morning and 200 late in the afternoon. 100 calories of sugars

 

-Buy hard candy that is based around fat rather than sugar.  My current hard candy doesn't work well as it is composed entirely of sugars.

-DELAY breakfast as long as possible.  DO NOT eat so early.

 

-Drink 1 glass OJ (At dinner, not for breakfast).  

 

 

My current exercise routine:

 

1. upper arms 

2. forearms

3. shoulders

4. chest/back

5. forearms and shoulders

6.-7. Rest

 

 

Experiment this week:

 

1. upper arms AND CHEST/BACK

2. forearms

3. shoulders

4. chest/back AND UPPER ARMS

5. forearms and shoulders

6.-7. Rest

 

** Reasons: Muscle growth seems to have plateaued on current level of nutrition/weight cap and workouts are getting longer and longer.  Still trying to lose weight (body fat) and want to go faster.

 

**  Trying to shorten my workouts by aiming at 63 lb dumbbells for all exercises  and then will revert to the previous habit.  Then I want to see if i can reduce it further to just 4 workouts a week with only one item each day.

1. Forearms: 63lb/ 63 lb/ 52 lb dumbells

 

* hammer curls first.

 

2. upper arms: target 58 lb + 

 

3. Shoulders: 63 lbs/63/   (target 48 lbs + dumbbells )

 

1. Chest/back and upper arms

2. Shoulders 

3. Forearms

4.Chest/back and upper arms

5. Shoulders and Forearms

6-7. Rest

 

 

@Stromboli1  what's your exercise routine?  You told me once that you worked out 2 hours a day.

Now it's just trying to walk 3 miles 5 times per week, my job has been crushing most of my free time.

 

Before it was lifting for 40 minutes, 20 minutes for core, and an hour for walking/running.

22 hours ago, Stromboli1 said:

Now it's just trying to walk 3 miles 5 times per week, my job has been crushing most of my free time.

 

Before it was lifting for 40 minutes, 20 minutes for core, and an hour for walking/running.

 

how do you lift and what is your core?

 

I walk about an hour a day but not as an exercise.

First you need to figure out if you're going to lift to maintain, strength, or tone.

 

Lifting schedule

Day 1 - Chest & back

Day 2 - Legs

Rest

Day 3 - Arms

Day 4 - A combo of the 3 previous days.

Rest

Rest

 

The core is your abs, lower back, and gluteus muscles. I wasn't even devoting enough time to the core which is very important for posture, back pain, and basically everything you do.

 

I always thought yoga was sissy shit that girls did, but my tune changed quick after seeing people with broken bodies especially wrestlers do it and heal themselves. As I get older I think flexibility and core strength are more essential to the body than muscle mass.

@Stromboli1  Yoga, Tai chi and other types of meditative practices have thousands of years of history....Buddahism, Hinduism,

 

I experimented with Yoga breathing exercises and mental guidance.  It definitely works in reducing stress, elevating the mood and clearing the mind.  However, I do not do it regularly so my ability to get its benefits is limited.

 

I don't do any core exercises although I should.  I dislike doing weight training on those regions.

 

What kind of core exercises do you do?  Do you use gym machines or free weights?

I want to do Yoga for the mental and physical benefits. Some yogas focus on flexibility, core strength, and using your body weight as weight.

 

I only did crunches, planks, sit ups, leg lifts, and obliques. lol

 

I only worked on the front for my core, I need to work on the lower back and gluteus (ass and hip flexors) way more for a stronger more complete core.

 

I use both machines and free weights.

errors in my diet over the past 2 weeks:  I've been exercising more and subconsciously I've been giving myself the excuse to eat! more.  No longer.

 

 

1. Forearms: 63lb/ 63 lb/ 55 lb dumbells

 

* hammer curls first.

 

2. upper arms: target 63 lbs

 

3. Shoulders: 63 lbs/63/   (target 48 lbs + dumbbells )

 

1. Chest/back and upper arms

2. Shoulders 

3. Forearms

4.Chest/back and upper arms

5. Shoulders and Forearms

6-7. Rest

On 9/24/2018 at 10:50 PM, Stromboli1 said:

I want to do Yoga for the mental and physical benefits. Some yogas focus on flexibility, core strength, and using your body weight as weight.

 

I only did crunches, planks, sit ups, leg lifts, and obliques. lol

 

I only worked on the front for my core, I need to work on the lower back and gluteus (ass and hip flexors) way more for a stronger more complete core.

 

I use both machines and free weights.

 

I pretty much need to use machines now that my dumbbells are getting exhausted.  I probably won't though.

 

These core exercises sound like a real pain to do in the beginning (sore back, ass, legs)

Muscle density seems to be a real "thing".  My muscles grew noticeably bigger in 1 month and then plateaued in growth speed as I am very slowly losing weight.   On many of my exercises, I'm doing the same weight as I did when I was 180-90 pounds and quite muscular.  Also, my muscles seem to be permanently "flexed" (dense and hard ) and not of the much more bulky and softer type I used to have.

From the great book " Flow, the Psychology of Optimal Experience":

 

"In the East techniques for achieving control over consciousness proliferated and achieved levels of enormous sophistication. Although quite different from one another in many respects, the yogi disciplines in India, the Taoist approach to life developed in China, and the Zen varieties of Buddhism all seek to free consciousness from the deterministic influences of outside forces—be they biological or social in  nature. Thus, for instance, a yogi disciplines his mind to ignore pain that ordinary people would have no choice but to let into their awareness; similarly he can ignore the insistent claims of hunger or sexual arousal that most people would be helpless to resist. The same effect can be achieved in different ways, either through perfecting a severe mental discipline as in Yoga or through cultivating constant spontaneity as in Zen. But the intended result is identical: to free inner life from the threat of chaos, on the one hand, and from the rigid conditioning of biological urges, on the other, and hence to become independent from the social controls that exploit both."

@Stromboli1  do you take pre-workout powder?  What do you do for workout nutrition?

I used to but not anymore.

 

The best thing to do is stretch and eat real food after your workout. I premake food in containers and eat them after my workouts. Lean Pork/Lean Beef/Chicken/Fish with rice/quinoa and broccoli/spinach/green beans.

^

I do the same thing but I do not eat carbs.  I just have 1 glass of OJ and with the meal.

 

I would be interested in a protein powder that wasn't either soy or whey.  Both give me gas!!!

 

I've hit 63 lbs for every exercise and my workouts are getting much longer ....

do you wear elbow sleeves or other things to protect your joints?

 

 

- bought elbow and wrist sleeves- after 4 months of lifting I'm starting to feel a small pain in my right elbow.

 

-Diet change:

 

2 small meals: 800 calories

3 cups of cereal: 300-400 calories

 

*switch cereal from sugary types to cheerios