Monday 7 April 2014

Testosterone


Over the last few days I have noticed that I have become more aggressive, on-edge and irritable. I can have a great morning workout where I literally fall out of the sauna at the end of the session, however, by mid-afternoon I seem to have more energy that wants to escape and I really fancy punching something! I might try to include some midday cycling into my routine but it coincides with the start of racing and I also think that it can hinder leg development by not giving the quads time to recover, especially in the 48 hours following a hard quad workout.

Now thinking about it I can put these emotions down to either having an increase in testosterone due to my quite intense routine or maybe it is caused by the recent small addition of carbs back into my diet? I suppose that I will have to monitor how I progress and I'll be keeping a close eye on my weight to see if I need to scale back on my carbs again. As mentioned previously I want to hit sub 88.0kg by 16/04 which will then allow me to get down to sub 86.0kg by the end of April..



08/04

88.3kg / Bodyfat 27.5%

Morning routine: back & abs - 20 minutes rowing / 6 * wide grip chins / 6 * reverse grip chins / 6 * hammer grip chins / 4 * seated rows / 4 * leg raises / 6 * crunches / 6 * hangs / 10 minutes rower / 30 minutes sauna

Lunchtime routine - 11 minutes bike


05:30 In addition to the above I have found that my sleeping pattern has been somewhat haphazard. I'm experiencing tiredness mixed with a buzz that you get from hard training and this means that I'm not getting that deep, peaceful and refreshing sleep. The only time that I manage to get this is when I come back from the gym and immediately jump into bed and have a snooze of about 90 minutes at around 11:00 - 12:30. I think that I'll start listening to my Hemi Sync recordings again as these have worked wonders in the past and have been fantastic for getting me into that deep sleep mode.




Trained back and abs this morning. On my warm-down on the Concept II rower I timed myself over 1000M on level 10. I probably rowed at about 65% effort and clocked a time of 4:36. I had previously spoke to a rower there who mentioned that anything under 8 minutes for 2000M was OK (I'll check this the next time that I see him).
 

05:30: tuna & 1 slice of toast
11:00: tuna & 1 egg white & 1 slice of toast
15:00: boiled chicken & 1 boiled egg
18:45: tuna & 1 egg white & broccoli & 1 slice of toast
23:00: bowl of porridge and cereal and 1 banana


I felt so tired in the evening that I hit the sack at around 20:00. I probably overdone the carbs in the evening and overnight so I'll check my weight again after the gym tomorrow. 




09/04

Morning routine: quads & hamstrings - 20 minutes bike / 4 * hack squats (max 80kg) / 6 * leg extensions / 6 * hamstring curls / 15 minutes bike with 4 sprints / 15 minutes sauna

06:15 Struggled out of bed this morning and thought about having a day off but felt OK once I got going. I succumbed to a bowl of cereal in the early hours so now I have to work a bit harder and be a bit more strict on my diet in order to continue my progress.

Had a great leg workout and then popped to Asda for more chicken and broccoli.


03:00: 8 tablespoons of porridge
11:00: boiled chicken & 1 egg white & 1 slice of toast
15:00: tuna & 1 egg white & 1 slice of toast
18:00: boiled chicken & 1 egg & 1 slice of toast
21:00: big bowl of porridge and friji milkshake and chunky kit-kat




I think that I might blitz my arms over the next week and just concentrate on biceps, triceps, forearms, calves and abs along with a super strict diet and cut out all the carbs again. I can combine this with light cardio such as rowing, boxing and cycling. I also think that time in the sauna really counts towards my cardio as it keeps my heart rate elevated. That should get me do down below 88.0kg by the 16/04 then I'll post some updated pics.




10/04

Morning routine: biceps & triceps - 20 minutes heavy bag / 4 * planche wrist & close grip press-ups superset / 4 * dips / 4 * barbell curls / 4 * overhead rope tricep extensions / 4 * seated dumbell curls / 4 * tricep extensions / 4 * dips / 30 minutes sauna

Evening routine - 30 minutes bike


05:45 I ate some shite last night. I've been working hard and my weight is down so I let myself go for a few hours and munched some crap, including 2 Friji milkshakes and 2 chunky kit-kats. However, as mentioned above I'm now going to go ultra strict for the next few days, up the cardio and blast arms, calves and abs.


02:00: friji milkshake and chunky kit-kat
06:00: tuna & 1 slice of toast
10:30: small portion of tuna & 1 slice of toast
14:30: small portion of tuna & 1 egg white & 1 slice of toast
18:00: boiled chicken & 1 egg white & broccoli
23:00: 8 tablespoons porridge


I'd love to be able to do a planche, but my wrists are very skinny, so I've started doing some exercises to improve my wrist flexibility and strength. These exercises also target the triceps, so I'll be doing some more of these this morning in the gym.






11/04

Morning routine: calves & abs - 20 minutes bike / 11 * calf raises / 4 * hanging leg raises / 6 * crunches / 4 * leg raises / 15 minutes sauna

Evening routine - 45 minutes bike


13:00: tuna & 1 egg white & 1 slice of toast
16:00: boiled chicken & 1 egg white
18:30: tuna & 1 slice of toast
21:30: boiled chcken

Stretching: 6 minutes


12/04

Morning routine: biceps & triceps - 20 minutes heavy bag / 4 * planche wrist / 4 * dips / 4 * seated dumbell curls (max 15kg) / 4 * overhead rope tricep extensions / 4 * barbell curls / 4 * tricep extensions / 4 * reverse barbell curls / 30 minutes sauna

Evening routine - 55 minutes bike

I ordered 6kg of whey protein yesterday, so that should ensure that I get take in protein every 3 hours and alleviate the boredom of chicken and tuna! I really need to be eating six meals per day in order to consume the 180g+ of protein that is recommended.

I've got 4 days to get to my next mark which is sub 88.0kg so I need to keep strict on my diet and avoid the Friji that is sitting in the fridge and the chunky Kit Kats in the cupboard! It's definitely a good test of self control.

I busted my bollox in the gym this morning yet when I jumped on the scales I had actually gained weight! Fuck .... I'll have to eat even less and train even more!

03:00: 8 tablespoons porridge
10:30: boiled chicken & 1 egg white
13:45: tuna & 1 slice of toast
17:15: boiled chicken & 1 egg white
21:00: tuna & 1 slice of toast




13/04

88.0kg / Bodyfat 27.3%

Morning routine: calves & abs - 20 minutes bike / 6 * smith machine calf raises / 6 * calf raises / 5 * hanging leg raises / 6 * crunches / 4 * 20 mountain climbers / 4 * leg raises / 15 minutes sauna

06:00: tuna & broccoli & 1 egg white & 1 slice of toast
09:45: boiled chicken & broccoli & 1 egg white
15:05: 1/2 normal portion of tuna & 1 egg white
21:00: tuna & 1 egg white & 1 slice of toast
23:00: bowl of porridge & cereal




So finally hit 88.0kg! I'll purposely keep my food intake to a bare minimum today so that I can shave a bit more off before the 16/04 and give myself 2 further weeks to lose 2kg and therefore hit sub 86.0kg by the end of April.

Don't you just love it when you're on a really strict diet and some fucker in a house nearby decides to crank-up the barbecue and start cooking delicious smelling burgers/sausages/steaks and God knows what else. What an inconsiderate BASTARD!!


14/04

Woke up this morning and my body felt shattered so I decided to have a lay in bed and skip the gym for today. I actually rolled out of bed at about 09:30 so definitely needed that extra sleep!

I couldn't help but launch into a bowl of porridge and cereal last night. I was tired and my willpower had been eroded and boy it tasted lovely. Luckily my protein arrived this morning so I slurped that down then headed to Asda for some more tuna, chicken, soy milk substitute and greens.


06:30: boiled chicken & 1 egg white & 1 slice of toast
09:30: protein shake
12:30: tuna & 1 egg white & 1 slice of toast
15:15: protein shake & 2 scoops porridge
18:00: 4 pints of Carling
22:00: tuna & 1 slice of toast & some chips

I went out this evening with my wife, eldest son and his girlfriend (who is very nice indeed). I was a bit worried that I might be well pissed after one pint, but I indulged in four and felt remarkably fine. I did take the precaution of drinking Carling instead of Stella so that might have helped. I do like Stella Artois, but ten pints can cause some alarming side effects ....




I stretched the vocal cords on the karaoke and had an enjoyable evening. On the way home I was all set for a kebab and I was literally a few yards from the kebab house and then my willpower kicked-in and I decided to refrain (self-control or what eh?). Instead I went home and had some tuna fish, albeit with a few of the wife's chips.



15/04

Morning routine: triceps - 20 minutes heavy bag / 4 * planche wrist press-up exercises / 4 * planche wrist extensions / 4 * dips / 4 * overhead rope tricep extensions / 4 * tricep rope extensions / 10 minutes bike / 30 minutes sauna

Evening routine - 60 minutes bike

I felt absolutely fucked in the gym this morning. I just had no power and I ended up just going through the motions using tiny weights. The missus and my eldest son are both under the weather so maybe I'm fighting the start of a bug? I'm going to have to make another good push in the next two weeks in order to drop another 2kg and get to sub 86.0kg by 01/05.





01:00: big bowl of porridge & cereal
06:30: protein shake
09:15: protein shake
12:30: tuna & 1 egg
17:30: tuna & cabbage & leeks
20:30: protein shake & 1 scoop of porridge





16/04


87.6kg / Bodyfat 27.2%


Morning routine: biceps - 20 minutes rowing 4:36 / 6 * reverse grip chins / 4 * barbell curls / 4 * concentration curls / 6 * hangs / 10 minutes rowing / 30 minutes sauna

Evening routine - 27 minutes bike

I timed myself again on the rower over 1000M and strangely clocked the exact same time as what I did on 08/04 which was 4:36. I was rowing at about the same effort so next time I'll push a bit harder and aim for sub 4:20 and maybe get down to somewhere nearer 4:00 by the end of April?




Weighed myself after the gym and didn't know what to expect so felt great when the scales showed sub 88.0kg!


02:00: protein shake
07:00: protein shake & 1 scoop porridge
10:15: tuna & 1 egg white (and honestly that tasted fucking fantastic!)
14:00: small portion of tuna & 1 egg white (springwater version tastes like shite) & protein shake
17:45: boiled chicken & 1 egg white & 1 slice of toast
22:00: boiled chicken & 1 egg white




17/04

Morning routine: chest & triceps - 20 minutes heavy bag / 4 * incline dumbell bench press (max 27.5kg) / 4 * seated machine chest press / 4 * dips / 4 * tricep extensions / 4 * close grip press ups / 30 minutes sauna

Evening routine - 35 minutes bike

My weight had increased slightly this morning so now I know that I have to get back to a zero carb diet for the next 2 weeks and also monitor my intake of protein shake as it's easy to guzzle too much! I'll probably take it with water instead of soy milk in order to further lower the calorie intake. I will also have to avoid getting up during the night and heading straight for the protein powder.


03:00: protein shake & 2 scoops of porridge
07:00: protein shake
10:00: boiled chicken & 1 egg white
14:00: tuna & 1 egg white
17:30: protein shake


1 comment:

  1. Hi Dave,

    Just stumbled across this (on your trading blog).

    Your diet is well off the mark mate, sounds daft but you're limiting your fat loss potential by eating so few calories. Protein shake, egg and tuna. Surprised your haven't put a gun to your head by now!

    Eating so little, your body will react by storing fat more aggressively. Give me a shout if you want any help, or tell me to fuck right off!

    Take it easy.

    ReplyDelete