We've all got a story to tell. I let injuries and a chronic disease take my body from being the Athlete of the Year in my high school to an unhealthy, out of shape, and sedentary mess of its former self. Here's what I'm doing to return to form, and reach my ultimate goal of being in the best shape of my life, even better than in the ol' "Glory Days"
"The greatest accomplishment is not in never falling, but in rising again after you fall." - Vince Lombardi
..and now back to our regularly scheduled program.
Tonight was a big reward meal for myself and my girlfried. We celebrated the 4th anniversay of our first date by going out for supper. I'll spare the details and just say that it was a feast. But as of right now, I'm feeling totally guilt free. I love my girlfriend more than anything in the world and it was nice to get out and celebrate.
But I'm right back on track after that meal, so no worries. It almost renews the excitement of eating healthy again!
Today's workout was pretty good, but I think I almost could have used another days rest. I didn't quite feel as strong as I did on Monday. I just didn't quite have enough gas in me and my form started to suffer a little. I don't know if it was my nutrition or just that I haven't slept well the past couple nights. I'm going to see how things go on Friday, but if I can't pull the weight that I want to, I'm going to do a short "intensity cycle" where I will back off on my weights to 80-90% of what they are right now, and then slowly work my way back up, and then exceed!
Who knew that a playground was still so much fun even when you grow up? Check out the following video, especially the first move that the guy does. They're called "elevators", and you'll see why. It's mind boggling.
After stumbling upon this impressive display of pull-ups, chin-ups, muscle-ups, I am now determined to be able to do a muscle up. I'm adding it to my list of goals. I can already do pull-ups and dips, so now I just have to string them together.
CrossFitters usually do these on rings, and I'm guessing most of you are like me and don't have rings at your gym. I'll have to settle for trying to do them on a pull-up bar like these guys.
Well, this week showed some bigger gains, both in the lean mass and fat gains. Although I think the fat gain has more to do with the "jump" from the caliper measurement due to it's limited precision. I think it's been more of a slow fat gain so I think it's safe to say that the fat gain has been more a result of the past 3 weeks in total rather than just the past week. Unless I see a similar fat gain in 2 consecutive weeks, I won't change anything up.
The lean mass gains look promising though, although I'm skeptical about how much is actual muscle. The latest protein powder (Nitro-Tech Hardcore) I got has some creatine in it. I wasn't looking for creatine specifically, it was just that this particular protein powder was on sale, so it was a good deal at the time. The amount of creatine in it is no more than 2 g per serving (probably really closer to 1 g). This is smaller than what they recommmend people usually take (I think anywhere from 3-10 g/day is recommended), so people specifically wanting to use creatine wouldn't get enough from this protein powder, but I think it is enough for me to see some of the increased water retention that is associated with it. I probably won't know for sure until after I go through the two tubs (they're 4 lbs each and it was buy one, get one 50% off) and then flush all the excess creatine out of my system. That might take a while though. Until then, I'm making sure I drink a lot of water, even more than I was before!
Today I thought I would answer Lilla's questions in my post since they were some really good ones that I kind of wanted to talk about at some point anyway.
I'm curious about stronglifts - when you start, you don't chose weights for failure on each set 5 x 5?
When I started stronglifts, there were a few exercises that I hadn't done ever or in a while. Mainly, the deadlift and barbell squats, which are also ones in which you can injure yourself more easily if you have poor form and lift heavy. I started out with an empty bar and worked my way up in weight while concentrating on form. Since you squat 3x a week on this program, if you add 10 lbs each session, it doesn't take long to build up to a decent weight. If you're comfortable in the exercises, you would go to a slightly different program and use weights closer to your maximum. Most programs of this type recommend a basic 2-3 week strengthening phase using sub-maximal loads before you hit a maximal workload.
How did you up your calories %wise per macro? Do you eat differently on workout days vs. non-workout days?
My calories pecentage wise changed a little bit. Before, when I was on my initial fat loss stage, I aimed for about a 30/15/55 protein/fat/carb split. In order to get enough calories in for a bulking plan, the main thing that I did was allow myself more fats, since it is a good way to get the calories in. Also, some saturated fat is good because it stimulates your testosterone levels, which is anabolic. I also didn't increase my carb intake as much as the others. I think that my ratios are somewhere around 30/25/45, but it's hard to say exactly as I no longer log my food or count calories. I just try to eat a lot! If I overeat on anything, it's meat. I figure I need all the protein I can get.
I eat slightly differently on workout days to account for my workout nutrition. On non-workout days, I eat 6 meals, and incorporate meal tapering. My last meal is more of a bed-time snack which is a casein protein shake with a serving of fat, which has lately been either Udo's mixed in the shake or almond butter on celery sticks. I try to have minimal carbs in this snack. My pre and post-workout nutrition on workout days is strictly protein and carbs. I try to have as little fat as possible in these, and they are smaller. There might be 2-4 grams that sneak in, but I don't conciously add a fat source. These are usually meals 4 and 5 for me, then I'll have meal 6 about an hour or so later, and then finish with my bedtime snack (meal 7). Because of this, my workout days might be lower in fat content and might be more like a 35/15/50 split. The total calories per day probably don't vary much because I feel it is just as important to feed the muscle the day after a workout.
There is a good chance that I'm not making the leanest gains possible, but I am now fully accepting that some fat is going to be put on. What I'm doing is giving me results that I am happy with, so until I see large fat gains and little muscle gains, I'll continue on.
Today was probably the hardest I worked out in the gym in a long time. On my current program, the goal is to increase the weight on all exercises each and every time I go in. I'm almost at the point where I've worked my way up from using an empty bar concentrating on form, to putting in a maximum effort and nearing failure on all my exercises. I was able to finish my prescribed reps for all of my exercises, except for my last set of weighted pull-ups. This might have to do with a slightly more intense warm-up. I usually only do a cardio warm-up on a machine, but today I tried a modified "CrossFit" warm-up. 3 sets of 10 reps of squats (instead of broomstick overhead squats), sit-ups, back extensions, push-ups (instead of pull-ups, which I do later), and dips. Now I know what they mean when they say, "Your work-out is our warm-up".
I think next week I might incorporate the "flip" method, where I invert the order that I do my exercises in. So, instead of ending with my weighted chin-ups or pull-ups, I'll start my workout with them. I think this will help me push my weights up another notch.
Although my stats are showing a small increase in lean mass, I've mostly been battling with feeling like I've either just put on water weight or fat. But today was different. Today was the first day where I really felt like I could feel new muscle on me. Well, maybe my muscles are just filling up with more water. It's really hard to say, but it's just one of those things where mentally, I felt it. It could just be in my head, but hey, it all starts with the vision. Just gotta stay clean, keep on the program, and have confidence.
Yesterday I picked up some stevia from the local health food store. Following Lilla's advice, I added a bit of it to the BFFM pancakes this morning. I think that was the secret missing ingredient. It made them much more enjoyable. Now I think the BFFM pancakes can be a real regular on my menu.
Today's workout was great. I was a little sore from Monday's workout earlier in the day, but the pain subsided once I got into the gym. My squats felt a lot stronger and I know I can keep pushing the weight up each session. Snuck in some push up work at the end of my workout, but my bench press and tricep dip had already taxed me. But it made for a great workout! By the end of it, I could barely move.
Today I ran out of flax seed capsules. Luckily though on the weekend I picked up a bottle of Udo's Oil to meet my EFA needs. Well, I just had a taste of it in my bedtime casein protein shake, and I must say...I think it might take a bit of getting used to. The capsules are great because you can't taste it, but they aren't the most cost efficient way of getting enough of your EFA's.
A serving of Udo's oil in a protein shake seems to be a pretty standard thing in the health circle, but I guess it's one of those things where you sacrifice your taste buds a little for the sake of your health. In time, I'm sure I'll get used to it though. I thought celery would be one of those healthy foods that I just wouldn't give in to, but I've just gone through a few bunches of them lately. They go great with natural peanut butter, or my latest indulgence, almond butter! I did the same thing with oatmeal. I thought it was one of those healthy meals that I just wouldn't sacrifice my taste buds for, but now I've been eating steel cut oats almost every day.
So you never know what healthy foods you're going to end up enjoying. They say that babies have to try a food up to 20 times before they realize they like it. I don't think it'll take me that long to learn to love the Udo's oil. So, I pledge to try it everyday for the next 20 days. If I can't stand it by then, I guess I'll go back to swallowing capsules.
Well, for the second week in a row, I managed a lean mass gain of about half a pound, which is on the low end of average possible lean mass gains per week, but I'm still happy with the results. As far as my basic measurements go, my bodyfat percentage is still the same, but physically, I'm having a hard time believing it hasn't gone up more yet. The mental struggle of the "buik" continues!
Well, as long as I can make slow and steady gains of half a pound a week though, I'll hit my target.
Here's this weeks stats:
M2 Week 2: 2008-01-14 to 2008-01-21 Weight: 136.33 (+0.55) Suprailiac: 10 mm -> 11.6% (no change) Jackson/Pollock chest/ab/thigh: 8/13/11 -> 9.13% (no change) Avg BF: 10.4% (no change) Lean Mass: 122.15 (+0.49) Fat Mass: 14.18 (+0.06)
Another quick post...Maybe tomorrow I'll have something informative or insightful. As for today...well, mostly spent it putting together that entertainment stand we picked up yesterday and moving furniture around. So there was a fair bit of heavy and awkward lifting today. Just ready for bed now.
Saturday's are normally a rest day for me, but my workouts this week were one day behind due to my gym being closed for the snowstorm we had on Monday. I thought I might get to the gym today to do my normal Friday workout, but Saturday is a real errand running day for my gf and I, and we just didn't get around to doing everything we had on our "to do" list. I decided that I'll get back on schedule on Monday, resting again tomorrow.
I figured I could get in a mini-workout today at home. Just enough to stress my muscles and get the heart rate up for a bit. I did supersets of push-ups, "Hindu" squats, and crunches. Basically I went hard, fast and intense for 15 min or so. It was enough to get me out of breath, and enough to already feel a bit of muscle soreness, so I think it was a decent "active" rest day. I think it was just enough to pump my system so it doesn't hit rock bottom before I hit the weights hard again on Monday.
This was on top of the deadlifts/squats I did earlier in the day as we bought a tv entertainment stand. The box is probably close to 75 lbs I would guess, and awkwardly shaped. I had to carry, set down, lift, then carry this heavy awkard box through each door between the store and my apartment. I think it's something that before would have been easy for me to injure myself doing. But the good thing about squats and deadlifts is that they translate into real world motions, and real world strength.
Just a quick post today to put my picture up. Things are going great and last nights workout left me good and exhausted again, so I spent the day resting and concentrating on eating clean. I even tried out the BFFM pancakes after seeing Lilla's video. It really isn't much different from what I have for breakfast normally though. I usually have a bowl of oatmeal with chocolate protein powder, and a piece of fruit (bananna, orange or berries).
I decided to make mine with a bananna instead of apples, since bananas are my "recovery" fruit that I like to have post workout and now am having for 1st breakfast the day after a workout. To be honest, they came out a little bland for me, so I think next time I might have to succumb and put in some splenda or go with an all fruit jam on top. The chunks of banana are good, but the plain oats portion of it was lacking. Here's how they turned out:
Looks like I might have had the pan a little too hot! Here's hoping the next batch is better!
Today while I was at the grocery store I ran into an old buddy who just happened to be in town for a bit. I saw him a little over the Christmas break, but we didn't really get a chance to talk. The first thing he said to me was, "you're eating healthy!" I think the giant stalk of celery sticking out of my baasket gave it away. He then jokingly pointed at someone else's cart and said, "they're healthy too, eh? Look at all those Pizza Pops!" That person had about 6 cartons of them in their cart along with an assortment of other garbage food. For those that aren't familiar with Pizza Pops, they are the epitome of North American convenience food. Pepperoni and cheese mixed with a preservative filled tomato sauce inside a white flour pocket that is microwaveable and ready in minutes.
He then went on to say how good it was to see me all slimmed down and eating healthy. This meant a lot more to me coming from him. I've known him longer than I can remember and he's a good honest person. He's also the one from our town who was known as the big gym rat and we spent a lot of time at our gym together. He was always the stereotypical ectomorph growing up. Skin and bones. But he made a big transformation after his final year in high school and packed on a lot of muscle. He did his research and made a big commitment to his workouts and his nutrition and he made great gains. If you didn't know him when he was younger, you wouldn't believe that he was as skinny as he was growing up. But he made a plan, stuck to it, and got great results.
But it all starts with the grocery cart. You really can tell a lot about a person by what's in their grocery cart. Now, I know that when embarking on fitness missions such as these, that your best measuring stick is yourself. But I always like to play the "am I the healthiest person in this line?" game at the grocery store. It's a fun little game to play when you're right beside all those impulse sweets right by the register. I know they say that you shouldn't feel good at other people's expense, but I enjoy the victory of putting my fresh organic veggies on the converyer belt behind someone with their bags of potato chips and (soda) pop. Does that make me judegemental? Elitist? Snobbish? Possibly, but it does make me feel good about making healthy eating choices.
So here's what was in my cart today when my friend complimented me on my healthy eating: skim milk, Low fat Triscuits (whole wheat crackers), organic steel cut oats, egg whites, whole wheat hamburger buns, organic baby spinach, low fat (4% MF) probiotic cheese, strawberries, herring, celery, green pepper, blueberries, cucumber, fresh Atlantic salmon, and a box of clementines.
How does this compare with your lists? Are you the healthiest person in your grocery line?
Well, today was just another day of getting good rest and eating well. Based on my measurements from Monday, I'm starting to make lean mass gains with little fat loss, but it's hard to really convince myself that it is lean mass gains. I've been eating more and to be honest, I just feel full a lot of the time now and have that "putting on fat" feel. I might have to drop my cals just a bit from what I've been going at lately on rest days since I didn't account for my overall activity level decreasing from the 6 workouts/week I was doing before. Even though it toook me a while to turn my system around and get it into "gain" mode, I think I might have overshot.
Or, I can just let things ride out...it's near impossible to put on lean mass without a bit of fat gain. I've done the fat burn before, and I'm confident I can do it again, it'd just be nice if there was less to get rid of once I put on some muscle.
This really is a tough mental struggle switching modes and staying committed.
Well, the extra rest helped out and it felt good to get back into the gym today. Last week was more of a warm-up. Today's sessions I tackled weights that were more than what I was doing before Christmas.
I warmed up on the deadlift with the weight I was using before Christmas and it felt so much lighter. Now that I'm confident my form is good, I threw on an extra 50 lbs on top of that.
I'm in the groove and ready to step it up and go big!
This is actually an entry for yesterday, which I missed posting on, but I'll still post for today this evening.
Well, I thought I was going to jump right back into my workout schedule, but mother nature had a different plan. After a quick thaw that saw most of the insanse amount of snow that had cumulated over the last few weeks melt away, we got dumped on again. A nice fresh layer of clean snow on top of the crusty, dirty brown stuff that remained. The snowfall started at pretty much the worst time, early enough that by the time my scheduled workout came around there was a good amount of snow down and they shut down campus (including the gym) so that folks could get home safely as more was coming in the night.
So yesterday's workout got pushed to today, which I had planned to be a rest day for yesterday's workout. This should mean I'm good and rested and able to put in a maximum effort in the gym tonight. Since my current workout plan is only 3 sessions/week, I'm not going to beat myself up about it being a day late, as long as I get my 3 sessions in this week.
Also yesterday was measurement day, so here are the results:
M2 Week 1: 2008-01-07 to 2008-01-14 Weight: 135.78 (+0.56) Suprailiac: 10 mm -> 11.6% (no change) Jackson/Pollock chest/ab/thigh: 7/14/11 -> 9.13% (no change) Avg BF: 10.4% (no change) Lean Mass: 121.66 (+0.5) Fat Mass: 14.12 (+0.06)
Well, I certainly enjoyed myself this weekend, but as I get back around to reading the shredder blogs, I'm starting to feel guilty. Yesterday I had a nice surprise and found out that a couple of my best friends who recently moved to California were in town for one night, and one night only. We had a lot of fun last night with them and other old friends from school. The bunch of us have been friends since our first days of University, which for a few of us is closing in on being 8 years ago. So what happens when old university friends get together? Eating out, lots of junk food, lots of beer, and very little sleep.
Of course, I had no regrest about enjoying mself, but I still feel like I have a responsibility to the rest of the shredders. I don't think I am as committed to an all out transformation, being 95% or greater compliant with a strict plan as many of you other shredders are at the moment. I've already made the biggest change, and I'm not that far away from my ideal body. I am confident that I possess the knowledge and ability to make small changes with as little as say 80% compliancy, and I know that I'm not going to allow myself to stray as far off the path as I have in the past.
So to the rest of you out there still shredding hard, I applaud you.
I think the 3-4 rest days/wk required for solid muscle gains is bumming me out. I want to do more. But less is more... Really looking forward to hitting the gym tomorrow hard, definitely going to up the intensity. I mean, today's photos really look like I had a rough night last night...I tried testing my push-ups today and I just had no energy. On top of that, my muscles were still sore from Friday's workout, and I only managed to push out 40 before I got tired. So it was LESS than last week!
This only means one thing, it's time to... Get my game face on!
Today I did my 1 rep max (1RM) testing. Doing this properly takes a fair amount of time, so I was actually only able to get it done for the big 3, the squat, deadlift, and the overhead press. Well, I don't know if these are usually considered the big 3, but they are the 3 lifts that factor into the CrossFit Total.
I threw in a new compound power lift sequence at the end of this to get my total workload up for the workout session, as doing heavy singles isn't a lot of total poundage moved. The CrossFitters call this one the "Bear Complex"
It works pretty much all the major muscle groups. Boy does it ever wear you out!
Anyway, here are my results from the 1RM testing:
Squat: 225 lbs (Overhead) Press: 120 lbs (not in one fluid motion, did 115 with good form) Deadlift: 275 lbs
At my current bodyweight (say 135 lbs), this gives ratios of
Squat: 1.67 x BW Press: 0.89 (0.85 good form) x BW Deadlift: 2.04 x BW
The deadlift probably surprised me the most. Getting over the 2xBW threshold was pretty good I think. I had an idea that I could squat 225 though and might have been able to push it further, but I underestimated my starting weights for it and ended up doing too many singles building up.
Comparing these results to strength standards table found here, I'm in between the ranges for intermediate and advanced, but closer to intermediate. Based on this, the goal I am setting for the end of this mission is to hit the advanced level for the press, bench press, squat, and deadlift. I will also practice my technique on the power clean and some other power lifts, but not go heavy on them just yet.
This would put my target 1RM at the following, assuming I finish at a bodyweight of around 140:
Press: 135 lbs (need to increase by 20 lbs) Bench: 225 lbs (need to increase by ???) Squat: 300 lbs (need to increase by 75 lbs) DeadL: 365 lbs (need to increase by 90 lbs)
Out of these, realistically I might only be able to get the Press up to the advanced level, but it gives me something to shoot for. I know I'm going to have to make some jumps in added pounds on my 5x5 training! Gotta push myself!
Well, today is once again a muscle building rest day, so I didn't have much else to concentrate on other than my "feedings". I only managed 5.5 meals today rather than a full 6. I was just a little bit late with each of my first 4 meals which added up to me not having enough time fit the last 2 in without really stuffing myself. I decided against this as eating 2 regular meals only 1 hour apart is just like having a big feast since your body doesn't have enough time to digest the first one.
I'll have to work on my meal timings a bit more on my rest days since before I just had the 1 rest day and that was used as a "free" day where I wasn't so rigid with my meal times or plans.
Although I didn't quite get my 6 meals in, what I did eat was good quality clean food. I'm hoping it has me nice and fueled up for tomorrow's workout/strength test.
I've decided that my primary focus for my mission 2 will be to hit some specific strength goals. But in order to do so, I really need to figure out what I am capable of. Since I've started on the Stronglifts program, I haven't reached the point of failure in any of my exercises yet, and they've all been done as 5x5's. Especially since I started light and am slowly adding weight, concentrating on perfecting form. However, the best indicator of absolute strength is the 1 rep max (1RM). I have no idea what my 1RM's are for all of my lifts, so that's something I need to figure out.
This Friday, I will attempt to determine my 1RM weights for the squat, deadlift, overhead press, bench press, and maybe the barbell row. I may do the bench and barbell row on another day, as I'm not sure how many different 1RM I can truly figure out in one session as the combination of exercises may fatigure me. But maybe I'll just do them all and make sure I do it in the same order when I re-test again.
This will give me a starting point. I'll then re-test my 1RM's at least once in the middle of my mission, and at the end of my mission.
Well, I must say that starting this new mission has me all pumped up again. I couldn't get to sleep last night because I kept thinking of all the different exercises I wanted to do. I was doing squats and deadlifts in my sleep! I was so wound up with extra energy! I probably would have slept better if I worked out yesterday, but to build that muscle, I really need to try and get my rest! It's hard for me, I'm typically an all or nothing guy, so if I'm working out, it's all I want to do! I just have to remind myself to be patient though. The changes will come as long as I keep doing the right things.
I've decided to make Mission 2 purely a mass gaining phase. Well, I'll simply be focusing on strength and conditioning, but my nutrition and rest periods will be structured to allow for mass gains. This means caloric surplus, and more rest.
As I mentioned in a previous post, I may be a hard-gainer in disguise. Putting on muscle is a slow process and my tendancies in the past of doing more cardio than weights may have hindered any muscle gains I've tried to make. Working out only 3 times a week almost seems lazy to me now, but most of the info out there points to this frequency for maximal muscle gains. Before Christmas, when I increased my calorie intake, I was still working out at least 4-5 times a week and wasn't able to put on any weight.
Yes, I still believe in simply being strong for one's size and have no intentions of becoming a hulk, but I do think my frame will allow for a bit more muscle mass without sacrificing other aspects of my athleticism.
Basically, what I'm getting at is that today was a rest day for me. I sure needed it too! After two weeks of not being in the gym, I've got a large case of muscle soreness! Good to know I'm shocking my body and working it hard.
Anyway, apologies to all of you out there who thought I may have disappeared earlier, but as I stated yesterday, I'm back and on track, and on a new mission!
Hello Fellow Shredders! I'm back and I'd thought I'd start off with my first video:
Return to Form - Mission 2 Kickstart Video
My final milestone of my first mission, playing in a charity hockey game went well and I surprised a lot of my old teammates in how well I played even after not being on the ice for 4 years. Also, over $6000 was raised for the local cancer society from proceeds and donations from the game. Not bad for a small town of about 1600 people. Sorry, I didn't get any pictures myself, but there was a team picture that was taken, but I'm not sure who has a copy.
However, I think I crawled across the mission 1 finish line rather than sprinted. I was starting to fade and get run down. Also, no matter how good shape you are in, there is no true exercise replacement for actually playing the sport, so my body found a lot of aches and pains from the game that it doesn't normally get from my regular exercise program. This shows the importance of changing up your program and cross-training. This meant that my scheduled vacation period really was a vacation rather than the "active" vacation that I initially planned.
Based on this, barring additional events that I can't control the date around, my future missions will be capped at 12 weeks before I allow myself a period of extended rest (at least 1 week).
I'm jumping in on Tea's push-up challenge. In my video I managed 47 in a row before I needed short rests in between. I reached failure at what I now count as 54 (I said 55 in the video, but I miscounted). But whether it is 47, 54, or 55, I think 110 is a good goal to aim for, so that is my pledge. Sounds ambitious, but I know I've been able to do in the 80-90 range before, so I should aim to surpass that. I'll also have to modify my form. After watching my video, I think I had my butt up a bit, and maybe my feet too far apart.
Over the break, without measureing myself, I felt like I gained a lot of fat, but based on the measurements I took today, I essentially maintained my physique. Weight was up a little bit, but out of my fat pinches, 2 were down, 1 was the same, and one went up which overall meant I was down for bodyfat.
My pledge for mission 2 is to continue on the StrongLifts 5x5 strength training program. On Sunday's I will test my push-up strength and post my results. I suspect that doing this weekly along with my other strength training should be sufficient to see gains. Regarding posting, I will post daily, except for possibly some Saturdays (rest days). I will post a daily photo, but have decided for this mission that I will keep it to a single front photo. Don't worry though, I've got a nice surprise lined up for making up for the lack of side/back photos.
Weekly I will post weight and bodyfat measurements. I have taken tape measurements as well, but I'm not sure how often I will post those, either bi-weekly, or just at the end as I'm not sure how much they will change.
My starting stats: Weight: 135.2 lbs
BF pinches: Suprailiac: 10 mm Chest: 7 mm Abdomen: 14 mm Thigh: 11 mm
Bodyfat %: AccuMeausure 1 site (suprailiac): 11.6% Jackson/Pollock 3 site (chest/ab/thigh): 9.13% Avg: 10.4%
Fat Mass: 14.1 lbs Lean Mass: 121.1 lbs
Tape Measure (in.): Neck: 13.25 Chest: 33.75 L Bicep: 12.5 R Bicep: 12.5 L forearm: 10.75 R forearm: 10.75 Waist: 28.75 Hips: 30 Butt: 35 L thigh: 20.25 R thigh: 20 L calf: 13.5 R calf: 13.5
I still have to work out my specific goals for this mission, but once I get them finalized I'll post them. This mission will run for 11 weeks from now until March 24th.
At 25, my high school athlete days were getting further and further in my past, and it showed in my physique. This is my commitment to getting in the best shape of my life...and continuing for as long as I live.
