8/31/09

After a week on the weights and 4 full days on the creatine load I am up 4 lbs with only a .5 % increase in body fat. My muscle cells have volumized by 4 lbs - extra blood/water that brings nutrients/protein to the rebuilding muscle fibers. I have been eating my Abs Diet menu and drinking a gallon to a gallon and a half of water, juiced fresh fruit juice and a diet coke or two.

I have not measured my muscles yet but there should be some increase in there size.

At church yesterday my Mom asked how the "diet" was going like I was on carrot sticks, celery, diet coke,  cigarettes and Fen-phem. I am body sculpting, not dieting. My goal is to be 200 lbs at 10% body fat with a 32" waist., and 16", 17" or 18" arms - as big as I can get them!

It took Hugh Jackman, who is also 6'2" 5 months to get his Wolverine body and he had trainers, nutritionists and a budget for food and supplements. He worked out 5 days a week for 1 - 2 hours a day and did cardio and yoga.

I am on a 9 month plan; Bulk up for 6 mos and then Lean out for 3 months. I am like a body builder who has a show on June 1, 2010.

Bulking up: 3 days free weights for large muscle groups, 3 sets of 4, 6, 12 reps. Lots of rest.

2 days abs and cardio - tae bo for a total of 5 days a week 1 -2 hours per day. Supplements: Iso Mass Xtreme Gainer, Cell Tech Hardcore creatine, Glutamine, Argine, MYO TEST testosterone booster.

Leaning out: P90X , Running 5 - 7 days a week. Supplements: Mitoropin - Cytolean V2 stack, Whey protein isolate, Micellar Caseins, BCAAs, Green Tea Extract, Caffeine.

My "diet" really does not change for the rest of my life. Read The Eat - Clean Diet For Men by Robert Kennedy to get the idea that eating healthy is a lifestyle change. I actually eat 8 times a day. It is not cheap to buy all this high quality food, Tracy is going nuts at the grocery bills but in order for my blood tests to improve I have to eat this way, I was pre-diabetic before I changed my eating habits 2 months ago. My doctor is monitoring all of this so I am healthy.

Why am I doing this? #1 Health, #2 So I can be physically fit to play with Laura, #3 Vanity, who doesn't want to look great.

229.8 lbs, 28.8% BF, 45" waist, 14" arms

Third Week Photos

8/29/09

It's Saturday. I finished my first week working out.

I did my M,W,F routines strict with 8 lbs and 12 lbs dumbells just to get the moves down, will work with them next week and then start moving up to 15, 20, 25 lbs.

I am sore but not too sore... in a good way.

3rd day of 5 on the creatine load. 

Sticking to a strict "eating clean" diet.

I read in The Eating Clean Diet by Robert Kennedy that your physique is 10% genetics, 10% training and 80% nutrition! You can re-make you physique with proper nutrition and exercise. I thought that since my genetics are that of a cyclist I was doomed. I just want to be jacked, the way Tiger Woods looks on tv. He is not huge, but looks pumped... you can tell he lifts. Now I look like every other 44 year old office worker, no "V", my waist is almost as big as my chest and my arms are these little sticks sticking out of my polo shirt. I am never going to be Mr. Delaware but I would love to look like I am fit. If I can loose the belly fat and pump up the upper body and arms I will be happy. 

Do I have the balls to lift for 6 mos and P90X for 3 mos to hit the beach and pool with my little girl next year? We will see.

227 lbs, 28.3 BF, 45" waist, 14" arms

8/27/09

I have decided to go for mass for 6 mos and then do a P90X cycle for 3 mos to peak at Memorial Day '10. My goal is to get my arms up to a least 16". 

I will do full body lifting on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and abs and tae bo on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Yesterday I started a creatine cycle using MuscleTech Cell Tech Hardcore. I have had good gains in size and strenght before with Cell Tech so I hope it works this time. 

For now I will use dumbells and push ups so I can work out at home. I will lift strict and increase (buy new dumbells) as needed. I just can't go to the Y yet due to leaving Laura home alone to much with Tracy. Maybe by November I hope to get to the Y 3 x a week.

226.8 lbs, 28.4% BF, 45" waist, 14" arms

8/24/09

First day of working out.

Doing the Abs Diet workout Monday routine at home with 8 lbs dumbells. Starting out slow and light so I don't get hurt.

Squat 12 x 1

Push ups 4 x 1

Bent rows 12 x 1

Shoulder press 12 x 1

Lateral Raises 12 x 1

Upright rows 12 x 1

Bent tricep extensions 12 x 3

Bicep Curls 12 x 3

Even with 8 lbs dumbells I broke a sweat. I will feel it tomorrow.

It felt good to workout!

225.6 lbs, 28.3 % BF, 45" waist, 14" Arms

8/23/09

Ground hog day @ 224.8 lbs., 28.1 % BF

What do I need to do to break 223 lbs?

I will start TAE BO on Tuesday, it will be hard to find a time to do it with Tracy, the baby and Summer sleeping when I would want to do it, around 7 am, may have to wait until 9 am when they get up. May just do it at 7 after dog gets up, Tracy is upstairs in bed and I will put Laura in the swing... she will like the music.

I am in a dilemma with the Y. I need to go 3 times a week at, say, 3:30 pm - 5 pm  M,W,F but it is going to be hard once Tracy starts back to work. She will be getting off at 3 but is it cool to just leave for the Y when she gets home for an hour and a half? I might have to.

Tomorrow is my 2 week anniversary with the Abs Diet and I have not seen any change, I feel good, but nothing really on the scale or the tape. I won't judge it until I have done the workouts and TAE BO for 8 weeks., but I am extremely frustrated. 

224.8 lbs, 28.1 % BF, 45" waist, 14" arms

8/22/09

I had a nice email chat with my buddy Rob, who is a fireman. He said he has gotten down to 11% body fat using Tony Horton's P90X workout program. All the firemen use it. I have seen the infomercial and it looked intense. Rob is a Marine and he said it reminded him of bootcamp.

For my cardio days I need something like P90X but it is pricey @ $150.00. I was going to order it and my wife Tracy reminded me that we had an unopened Billy Blanks Tae bo DVD set in the entertainment center. I am going to use that for a while to get into basic shape on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I will use the $150.00 for my food purchases b/c my diet needs are killing the family food budget. Good, clean, whole foods are more expensive than junk we have found :-(

I found the GLA/CLA supplements at the Vitamin Shoppe for about $40.00

There is also a Growth Hormone trigger called Alpha-GPC for $22.00

The GLA/CLA works on hormone sensitive lipase (fat) levels and act as a gatekeeper to determine when to open fat cells into the blood to be burned. GLA/CLA opens the gate.

Alpha-GPC produces choline which blocks somatostatin thus allowing growth  hormone to flow freely. The guys at the Vitamin Shoppe and GNC think that this might be the way to go to break my sticking point of 224.

If this doesn't work, then we will look at Lipo 6 Black fat burner but not until we do a month of lifting M,W,F and Tae bo T,TR.

Testosterone booster is another direction to consider as low testosterone can slow down the metabolism, as can less than 7 hours of sleep each night. I sleep 2 hours from 8pm - 11pm and then 12 midnight until 5am so I get about 7 hours. My sleep could be better. I would like to get a solid 8 hours in bed, but I have a bit of Insomnia. May need some help from my Doctor for a mild sleep aid. 

Once we begin lifting we will start Cell Tech Hardcore creatine for 8 weeks. I put 2" on my chest (50") and 2" on my arms (16") with Cell Tech last time I was seriously lifting - creatine volumizes your muscle cells with water after you break down the muscle fiber with lifting. Too long and you can get kidney stones - some dudes use it for years... just 8 week cycles lads...

Going to turn in my Y application today, they say it takes 10 days to process, should be lifting and swimming by Sept 15th! I can hardly wait!

224.8 lbs, 28.1% BF, 45" waist, 14" arms

8/21/09

22 days at 225.5 lbs - 224 lbs, can't break the 223 barrier. 28.2% body fat and the belly is still huge 45". I am hoping that the ab exercises will help tighten the muscles and bring in the bulge, which is disgusting.

Will try growth hormone activators: 700 mg L-dopa (3,4-dihydroxy-L-phenylanine) & 300 mg Alpha-GPC (L-alpha glycerylphosphorycholine) which activate the body's metabolic switch during sleep. To aid in this fat release 4 grams each of GLA (gamma linolenic acid) and CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) all taken at bedtime.

I hope much more anabolic and metabolic activity happens once I start serious lifting in September. Until then I do abs exercises and lift dumbells here at home. I just can't get to the Y for 2 hours 3 days a week yet with the baby being so young.

I am very frustrated but happy with my eating, I am not really cheating!

225.2 lbs, 28.2% BF, 45" waist, 14" arms

8/19/09

If you can measure it, you can fix it. 

I published first week "Before" photos because I always see in magazine ads for products Before and then After photos. I took these photos on a Sunday morning when I just got up so I would be in my most natural state. 

It is truly a "wake up call" to see how far my body has gotten away from me, it comes on very gradually. In 1999 I had a flat 34" stomach and waist and a lot less body fat on my belly and back. I believe that about 40 lbs of this has come on as the result of medications I have taken since 2000. That is not an excuse, just a theory.

Now that I know where I am, I can work on getting back into shape.

First Week Photos

8/18/09

The Abs Diet.

I was reading an article in Robert Kennedy's MuscleMag International about what pro bodybuilders eat and it gave a sample menu for 7 days. Man, I could not eat that much if you paid me. But I did realize that I am eating right. 

Here is a sample of my daily intake: (minus the nutrient breakdown)

5am whey protein isolate shake

7am 2 packs of instant oatmeal

8am 3 scambled eggs

         4 slices bacon

10am 1/4 cup almonds and mixed nuts

           1 0unce chedder cheese

12 noon Saladworks salad, 1 can tuna, olive oil and vinegar 

3pm smoothie (1% milk, vanilla yogurt, 1 pack oatmeal, raspberrys, blueberrys, strawberrys, 1             banana, wheat germ, flaxseed, 1 serving whey protein isolate, ice)

5pm steak, steamed broccoli

         sugar free Jello and whipped cream

9pm  1 pack instant oatmeal

11pm whey protein isolate shake

This is a typical day.

This diet is designed by Men's Health magazine's Abs Diet to build muscle while stoking the fat burners in the body. The thermogenic effect should show up more after I start my 3 day a week full body lifting routine in a week (the Abs Diet recommends you not lift for 2 weeks at the start to give your body time to adjust to the new diet). After a good full body, large muscle group workout as the muscles repair themselves your body burns lots of calories for about 48 hours after the workout just repairing and building new muscle fibers. The protein that you take in to build muscle costs a lot of calories to process in the body so it is great to eat a lot of high quality animal and whey protein each day. The rule of thumb is to eat as many grams as you weigh each day, so I would eat 224 grams. 1 pound of new muscle the body builds burns 50 calories a day just to live! A low body fat of say 15% for a man means you are 85% muscle and you are burning lots of calories each day just living. At my body fat 28%, it means I am carrying around about 40 lbs of extra fat that I don't need, that taxes my body's systems, and wear me out. This is why I would have so much more energy if I was 15% BF!

Today I am getting a Juicer and hope to add in fresh vegetable and fruit juice into my diet

To tell the truth, this seems like the "right" amount of food for me, and the book tells me it is the right food for building muscle and losing fat.

Each entry I will give my vital stats and once a week I will post pictures of my progress:

224.0 lbs,  28.0% BF,  45" waist,  14" arms

Welcome

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Welcome to my body sculpting journal as I journey on the path to sculpting my body to the Grecian Ideal as portrayed in Greek male sculpture and Michelangelo's David.

I will begin with a quick overview:

I have been dieting for 8 weeks , 7 on the Atkins diet. I lost 12.5 lbs. on Atkins. 6 days ago I started the Abs Diet by David Zinczenko, Editor-In-Chief of Mens Health magazine.

After 6 days I am up 1.4 lbs. but that could be muscle gain. As the simple weight measurements don't fully account for muscle gain, I bought a body fat analyzer yesterday and I plan to track my body fat loss as a more true gauge of my progress.

Here are my statistics:

I am 44.5 years old

I am 6'2" tall

I am a Endomorph/Mesomorph body type

I would say I have small bone structure and long features

When I started on June 19, 2009 I was 236 lbs

Today, August 16, 2009 I am 226.4 lbs

August 15, 2009 at 3 pm I was 29.0% body fat

August 16, 2009 at 5 am I am 28.2% Body fat

Here are my measurements against the Grecian Ideal:

August 15, 2009

Grecian Ideal                                                                       John Kelly

Wrist 7.5"                                                                             7.5"

Chest 49"                                                                              47"

Waist (belly button) 34"                                                    45"

Hip 42"                                                                                  41"

Bicep 18"                                                                               14"

Forearm 14"                                                                         11.5"

Thigh 26"                                                                              22"

Calve 17"                                                                               15.5"

Neck 18"                                                                               17"

 My biggest challenges are my high body fat percentage, I need to be down to 6-15% to show my abs, and my biceps/triceps which give me low self confidence. I want 18" muscular arms.

I have not been working out so far, the first 2 weeks on the Ab Diet say no working out. I plan on joining the Y to work out 3x a week.

That's it for now.