Day 15- Recap of the last week.

I'm very sad that I have not been able to write in the last week. I had one of the hardest tests of my career to study for and I just was too busy. I'm sorry. I have still been working out.. I couldn't skip that. It's an addiction.. I have also come up against another barrier though.. On monday nights, I have a basketball game, and a ultimate Frisbee game... from here on out, I will be taking a strength rest day on monday. I am too exhausted after these games to feel like I can get an effective strength workout in. If you are looking for two sports to play for exercise purposes.. These are two of the best I can think of. (Wrestling is always better, but what school offers Intramural wrestling?) These sports have interval training built into them and are great fat burning exercises.

I will just give brief descriptions of what I did last week instead of full sets.

Wed- Leg Day- Squats, Lunges, Box Jumps

Thursday- Ab/Push-ups

Friday- Pull-ups/Dips

Weekend rest.

Today on Tuesday I had Push-up/ Pull-up day

Bike for warm-up

10, 8, 6, 5, 6, 8, 10 Pull-ups   with 10, 20, 30, 20, 10, 20, 20 Push-ups after each set.

Body-weight rows  4x10
Push-ups planks with knee to elbows   5x 10
Exercise ball Pike to rollouts- 2x5

I have been slowly taking away rest time after each set and I feel like I am getting a better cardio workout each time.

I will be more regular than last week I promise. Keep working hard, strive for results.

Day 8- Body Weight Exercises

Today was the hard day of this week. It involved entirely too many push-ups for my liking. Yet, I feel as though my numbers in pull-ups and push-ups are going to increase dramatically by the end of this month. Workouts that I had done that were way too hard, seem easier now and that makes me want to keep pushing myself.  I'm really enjoying the feeling of exhaustion that I have been getting from every workout in this plan. I intend on keeping it going, and increasing the difficulty of the workouts dramatically still.

Day 8-

           -Super sets- 4x    8 Pull-ups  then 10 Push-ups
                            - 2x    4 Pull-ups  then 20 Push-ups
                            - 4x     8 Inverted Body Rows then 10 or 20 push-ups. Alternate.

            -Cardio/ More Push-up like activities-
                            -10 Push-ups   then 10 alternating push-up plank knee to outside of elbow
                            -Jog 1/2 lap  Run 1/2
                            -repeat 5x  with push-up planks in between.
                            -Cool-down and stretch

Day 7- Body weight exercises

After a good weekend of rest, it felt nice to get back on the grind. I had less of a strict workout today but it was still great. I had yoga today and it was an excellent workout. For cardio today I had a basketball game. Playing basketball (talented or not) is a great workout. Just following the game up and down the floor is a great interval workout.

Today I only had two strength workouts. Push-ups and abs.

5x 20 Push-ups
5x 5 Pike to roll-outs

Alternated. Felt great. Tomorrow is going to be a tough day. Come back for tomorrow's plan. Stay motivated. Stay grinding.

Body Weight Exercise- Day 4- Abs and Pull-ups

I feel as though I accomplished my goals for yesterday. My workout last night made me regret picking to live on the fourth floor. Stairs have been painful and tiring last night as well as today. But it is a reminder that I am going to get better and feel better as this month goes on. Not to be cliche or anything but, No pain No gain. 

Today's plan is mostly just to rest up and loosen up and get some ab work and cardio in. We'll only be doing a few sets of Pull-ups and only because it's important to keep the volume of Pull-ups up in the first part of this challenge so that we can end up moving to higher and higher amounts. I feel that a full days rest from them is enough to be able to get a nice benefit from a few sets today. 

As this month is fully underway as of now, I have been trying to eat healthier and less than I had been the weeks leading up to it. Choosing a turkey burger rather than pizza. Wraps instead of subs. Water instead of Juice. Getting to a healthier point in your life is all about making choices. If you can get yourself to make a healthier option, do it. You will probably benefit from it. I have been processing a few ideas for diet plans and such that I feel I would benefit from immensely. I just have to talk my mind into being able to follow it for the period of time necessary. 

Two options that I am considering starting soon are: Vegetarian or Low-Carb. 

I'll be the first to admit that I love a good burger or a steak or some pasta and potatoes... oh french fries. I also know that both of these diets could help me lose a significant amount of fat that I'd love to lose still. If I end up doing the vegetarian option, I will still be using my protein post-workout, and I'll probably still drink milk and eat eggs. I'm not going to go vegan, that's just nuts. I couldn't do that to myself. I'm contemplating both of these options and I do not know if I'll try either or maybe I'll try both. Who knows. Just weighing the options. If any of you have any suggestions, comments, questions. Just post in the comment section. I'm looking for opinions if you have any. 

Thursday- Day 4- 

Warm-up: 5 minute Exercise bike. 

4x8 Pull-ups. 

5x5 Exercise ball Pike-to- Rollout

4x20 Crunches

4x45 second Push-up planks

4x20 V-Sit ups

4x10 each side   Push-up Plank  knee to opposite elbows. 

30 Minutes Bike or Elliptical for Cardio work. 

Work hard because hard work pays off. 

Body Weight Exercises- Day 3

Yesterday was a really rough workout but I made it through it. I am very hopeful that this month is going to be really beneficial to me after experiencing how hard this month is going to be yesterday. This morning I ache in spots that I haven't ached in since high school. It feels great, since I have been bulking hard the last four months, I haven't felt a really good sore morning in awhile. I missed the feeling and I'm very excited to keep going.

Today's workout will be focusing mostly leg workouts. My goal is to have my legs feel like jelly tomorrow.


Day 3- Leg day.
        -Warm-up Jog 5 minutes
        -Body squats   4x 30
        -Walking Lunges- 5x 20 steps
        -Exercise Ball Hamstring Pull in- 5x15
       
        -Running/Wall sits-   4x  Run a lap(7 lap mile track), Wall sit (45 seconds).

        -Stretch and Cooldown

Reflection on Body Weight Exercises- Day 2

After completing my first body weight exercise, I have decided I needed to reflect on the experience. I am completely surprised on how extremely hard this days work out was. I was flirting with the real possibility that I was not going to be able to finish it. I feel as though a month of workouts at this intensity level will really be able to give me the real possibility of hitting every single one of my goals for this experiment. Over the course of the workout I found myself having to hold myself back for a few extra seconds rest here and there because otherwise I was going to fail on the exercise.


Super sets consisting of:
             -5x 6 Pull-ups and 10 Push-ups
                      - Alternate wide grip/ normal grip on pull-ups, Alternate Narrow/Normal Push-ups
              -5x 15 Dips and 5 push-ups
                   These were by far the hardest. Close to failure at the end of each set.

             -5x 10 Inverted Body weight row and 10 push-ups
 Normal sets of:
             -5x 8 Hanging Leg Lifts
             -5x 20 Decline Sit-ups
             -1x Max Pull-ups-----3
             -1x Max Push-ups-----32

With a max of 17 Pull-ups rested.. I feel as though I should have been able to get more than three. I guess this just gives me a place to start. If you are going to try and follow this, make sure that you focus on form as much as possible so that you don't end up hurting yourself trying to go past a point that you should not cross.  Please subscribe to me, and come back daily for new content. I'll post my workout for tomorrow for everyone hopefully in the morning some point. :)

Body Weight Exercises- Day 2

Today is the day that I finally get start my workouts with my body weight exercise plan. I'm really excited to have something new to do each day and I hope that it will be successful so that I can add this type of workout to my cycle of workouts.

Just to reiterate my goals for this month.

          -Fat loss (not necessarily weight loss)
          -Muscle toning (not so much bulking)
          -Body Regeneration and Healing
          -Muscle Endurance
                                                                                                            Inverted Body Weight Rows

My workout plan for today will be as followed:

Day Two- Pull-up and push-up day.
                                 
Warm up:                
             -10 Minutes Biking
         
Super sets consisting of:
             -5x 6 Pull-ups and 10 Push-ups
                      - Alternate wide grip/ normal grip on pull-ups, Alternate Narrow/Normal Push-ups
             -5x 15 Dips and 5 push-ups
             -5x 10 Inverted Body weight row and 10 push-ups
 Normal sets of:
             -5x 8 Hanging Leg Lifts
             -5x 20 Decline Sit-ups
             -1x Max Pull-ups-----3
             -1x Max Push-ups-----32
Cardio:
             -10 Minutes of Jump Rope Drills



Remember that everyone has to start somewhere, I encourage you to listen to your body and not over exert yourself, but to also make sure that you push yourself. If you cannot do as many of each set, that's okay.
Remember that at a single set max, I can do 17 pull-ups and 56 Push-ups. If you're testing was lower. Go lower repetitions per set but try and keep the set number.

Body Weight Exercises Day 1

Body Weight Exercises-

As I said, I've been getting a lot of talk generated about how I should guide options more geared towards the female contingency, this is one of the reasons that I am going to use my body as a tool and as an experiment to further my knowledge of how different workout styles can benefit you. I have been on a workout plan that almost entirely involves heavy weights and lower repetition. I am at a point that I feel I am getting burnt out by this. My shoulder has been aching chronically, so much so that I have been electing to skip sets while bench pressing. (Benching is my favorite workout.) I also feel as though I have burned myself out a little bit mentally. It has become harder and harder to entice myself into these hard heavy weight workouts. I have been bulking hard muscle-wise for far too long I feel.  I also  feel as though I need to throw something else at my body and mind to overcome this type of burnout. 

This being said, for the next 30 Days I will be going on an all body weight workout schedule.  I am going to try and develop a workout that helps me tone and strengthen my body in a way that I have not done before. This is an attempt to be a well rounded person, Physically and Mentally. I feel as though this type of workout will provide me a wealth of knowledge on different types of workouts. To do this challenge I will have to go around and do the research necessary to produce an effective workout plan. I hope that you can join me in this 30 day challenge/experiment that I'm going to be putting myself through as well as follow my process and my feelings during this journey. I will be taking stats at frequent intervals so I can then possibly come up with a graph of successes/failures. 

At the beginning of this endeavor I feel as though the higher repetition nature of my challenge is going to improve me by raising the level of muscle endurance I have. The amount of muscle endurance I have in my own opinion is quite atrocious. I also believe that the amount of fat-burn associated with this workout plan will help chisel my body down closer to my goal appearance. 

Day #1- Testing 

Today I will be testing certain areas that I believe will be gauges on how I am improving over the course of this challenge.

I will be testing in a few different areas- 

Pushups- 56 

Pullups- 17

Lunges- 51

Body weight squats- 56

Weight- 200.0 Pounds 

If you would like to join along, make sure that when you are doing these tests, you do not sacrifice form trying to get higher results. These tests will be maxes/ burnouts. I understand that you use some of the same muscles in other tests and that you may not score as high in the others as a result. Just make sure every time you test you go in the same order so you can still see the improvement. Enjoy, because I know that I am very excited to try something new. I will also be doing Cardio workouts along the way approximately 3 days a week. As always feel free to comment and ask questions whenever you feel like you need clarification.

Come back tomorrow to see my workout for the day. :)

Weekend Fitness- Diet Strategies- Being a Cheater

Weekend Fitness-

Oftentimes I get the feeling that I just do not want to do anything on the weekend. I just want to put all sorts of junk food in and do absolutely nothing to help burn it off. Some of this is good for you. Your body needs to rest to some degree otherwise it will burnout and you will hurt yourself. Same thing goes with eating junk food. Especially when first starting a diet, a cheat day/weekend, can prove to be very beneficial.

Cheat days are when you try to get over a craving because you let your body have the food it thinks it wants anyway, but just once a week. Here are a few steps to being successful being a cheater.

1. Pick a certain day and stick with it.
       - Picking one day out of a week ahead of time, and knowing that you can indulge a little on that day helps you to have a good excuse not to eat that junk food when it is calling your name on a day that you are not allowed cheat.

2. Don't Binge.
       - Just because you get to cheat, does NOT mean you get to eat as much of that junk that you want. Eat some, get a taste of it, and do you best to put it away. If you have to take a large drink of water to fill yourself up faster. Do it.

3. Don't cheat just to cheat. 
       -Yes you are giving yourself the option to cheat, does not mean that you have to. If you are feeling perfectly fine without the junk on your cheat day. Do not make a point to eat it just because you can.

4. If you skip a cheat day.
      - Don't use it as an excuse to eat unhealthy the next week on a non- cheat day. Use the upcoming cheat day as your leverage to overcome these urges.

5. Slowly use fewer cheat days. 
      - After awhile, your cheat days are going to be the only thing holding yourself back from really hitting that next level. This is to be expected. At some point, you should probably think about cutting back on the amount of cheat days that you give yourself. Try maybe giving yourself one cheat day every two weeks instead of one each week.


Utilizing cheat days has been a great tool to use in my life. I feel that as long as you remember these steps you will be able to benefit greatly also.

As always thanks for reading and check back tomorrow for more daily content.
-Andrew

Yoga Classes- My Experiences and Health Benefits

My Experiences with Yoga-

I started doing yoga at the beginning of this semester and I do not regret it one bit. Sure I may be the only guy in my class. Sure I feel like everyone might think I'm a creep. But that isn't so hard to get over really when you think about it. 

Am I too proud that I won't put myself into an awkward situation to better myself? Not one bit. If yoga is going to help me fulfill my goals.. I'm going to take advantage of it. 

Every time that I go to my Yoga class (Twice a week). I renew my beliefs about it. During the class, I try my best to do the hardest variation of the poses that I can, because after all I'm there to get better, why not push myself. I sweat profusely most of the time, but I don't mind, most of the time I enjoy sweating. After the class is over, I feel so completely relaxed it is unreal. There is one thing in my life that has taken me to a more relaxed state and that is massage. 6 weeks into the class I am noticeably more flexible, strong and calm throughout the week. I have two hours a week of formal class, and I do two hours a week on my own.(thanks again mom for the yoga mat) 

yogatailor.com has a fantastic free trial out there that gives you unlimited yoga programs for multiple difficulty levels and ailments(sore back, pregnancy). This is by far the best resource I have come across in the Yoga world. Please feel free to comment if you have any other cost effective home yoga trainers.

I know how my body has responded to my Yoga training, but here is a list of proven health benefits-

                  -Stress Reduction

                  -Improved-

                         -Flexibility

                         -Balance

                         -Range of Motion

                         -Strength

                  -Management of Chronic Health Conditions

                         -Depression

                         -Pain

                         -Anxiety

                         -Insomnia

                         -May help with Cancer Complications

                    -Weight loss

Source: Mayoclinic.com

With this many benefits to your health. I feel as though if you have the opportunity to do it, that you should definitely do it. As a college student I know that most of us are pinching our pennies to make do. College campuses often offer excellent yoga classes for well below the real world average. At UWL it is 25$ for a semester of yoga classes. At most yoga studios the drop in rate is often 10$. So for the price of 2 1/2 yoga studio classes, I get over 20 classes, that is an amazing deal and I am glad that I can take advantage of it. It took my mom bribing me to start yoga, but I will gladly sign up over and over again just for the opportunity to participate in more yoga. 

Thursday- Cardio day- Thank you.

Thursday- Cardio day-

Today I went open on Facebook about my blog. I'm so thankful for all the positive feedback I have heard from all of you. It really makes me feel like continuing this blog will be worth it. I really hope that I can keep this going because knowing that it will be beneficial to my goals, is almost as nice to know as it is to know that I can help people out.

Today is my second full cardio day and I'm sure it will be a good time. :) One thing that I have noticed as I let all my friends know about this blog (someone special asked about it) is the fact that my personal weight training workouts are not female friendly. I recognize that sometimes (not always) women benefit more out of different types of training. I am here to say that if you are a female, just try to do as much of my workout as you can and it will benefit you tremendously. If you for instance don't have a lifting partner and don't want to bench.. do push-ups... If you cannot do pull-ups.. Do some Pull-down bar with a weight you can handle. If you can't do the lightest weight available, modify it to your level.

One thing everyone should realize when they are trying to start a workout program is that EVERYONE HAS TO START SOMEWHERE. Nobody popped out of the womb benching two plates. If you are having trouble finding a place to start. Contact me and I will be more than happy to try and help. I will do the best that I can do.

Set a goal, tell someone about your goal, say your goal out loud to a stuffed animal, write it down, make it your facebook status. As soon as you let the world know about your goal.. it is already that much easier to achieve. Take time out of your day to evaluate what your goals. If you need a person or place to make your goals known, contact me or make a comment on this blog. It will help.

I had not read this when writing this article but I have shortly afterwards and it fits very well with today's post. Thank you- Leo Babuta. http://zenhabits.net/get-off-your-butt-16-ways-to-get-motivated-when-youre-in-a-slump/

My Cardio workout-


                -Warm-up on Bike- 5 minutes
                -Dynamic stretches/get loose
                -Run 1 lap, walk half a lap, Run 1 lap, Walk half a lap.
                       Total-  Around 10 Running laps. (about a mile and a half on indoor track.)
                Abs- :)
                      -40 Crunches
                      -Pushup plank 1 minute
                      -10 Leg lifts
                      -Pushup plank with same shoulder touches. 10 Each side.
                       X2

                 Cool down- 5 minutes
                 Stretch everything and anything that is sore, tired, tight. The more stretching the better. :)



Go out and start achieving your goals. A few non-workout articles will be posted in the next few days, so stop by to get some motivation. :) New content will be released daily.

Wednesday- Chest, Triceps, Extras

Wednesday- Chest, Triceps and Extras

Today I'm not feeling my most ambitious but its important to keep a schedule. Personally I believe that writing this blog is going to help me stick with my workout goals, and in turn, help me better myself. So as I settle my stomach from eating not too long ago, I'm writing this to help motivate myself to want to get up and get active.

An important thing to think about, is that every little bit helps. If you only have time for a 25-30 minute workout and think that it isn't enough time to get a good workout, you're wrong. That time that you spend working on towards your goal adds up. EVERY LITTLE BIT HELPS.

This week my routine is backwards and I will change it back up starting on Monday, but this Monday my shoulder was killing me when I tried to bench, so I reversed Monday and Wednesday, because EVERYONE knows that Monday is bench day. So i'm just going to pretend that today is Monday this week. In my current cycle, I am focusing on lower weights with higher repetitions because I have noticed that my muscle fatigue sets in faster than I would like and I don't appreciate that. If you don't like something about yourself, It's your body, change it.

Wednesday  "Mondayish" Workout-

                          -5 Minute Warm-up     Bike
                          -3x10 Bench
                          -3x10 Dumbell Bench
                          -4x15-20    Tricep Dips
                          -3x10  Single Leg Deadlift
                          -3x12  Tricep Pulldown
                          -3x10  Lunges
                         
                          -Abs-(everyday type of thing) (ps. learn to love planks)
                                     -Leg Scissors- 40 reps total
                                     -Front Plank- 1 Minute
                                     -Leg lifts- 20
                                     -Side Plank  30 seconds each side
                                     -Swiss Ball Pike to Rollout- 5 reps
                           -Cooldown 5 minutes then stretch
                           -Protein up I prefer Elite Whey Protein Isolate Rich Chocolate - 5 lbs 
                            I really feel that this speeds up my recovery after a hard workout,
                            and I feel like this workout is going to be rough, but worth it.
                           -Make sure if you are going to be using a high quality protein to take it withing the first 40 minutes after your workout. Studies have shown that after 40 minutes protein synthesis slows down considerably. You do NOT want to miss your protein window. Make your workout worth it.
                 

Tuesday- Cardio Day

Tuesday-  Cardio Day

            One of the most important things that someone can forget is that muscle confusion is absolutely key to making gains and getting the results that you are looking for. As a college student, I have learned to maximize my time working out because frankly, I do not have time to waste. 

             I have long since taken a chunk out of my day consciously to devout to working out. That is the biggest step to overcome. When you do not think that you have the time to work out, you are LYING to yourself. When you are studying, there is no single better study break than a good workout, it renews your body, it wakes you up and gets you ready to start cramming again. 

            I have a Chemistry Exam coming up that I have been studying for, and it happens to be 10pm while I'm writing this. But the addiction to bettering my body and to get the blood moving is egging me onto my workout. 

           I am currently in a cycle where I weight train Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and the Tuesday and Thursday are devoted to cardio. When I feel overly ambitious, I will supplement weight training days with cardio at the end. This sacrifices some of the anabolic state that weight training puts you in, but remember my goal is to keep the pounds off and create a leaner, muscular body and that requires a higher calorie output and anything helps. I choose to do my abdominal exercises everyday because the vision I see myself in at the end of my journey, is with me having huge washboard abs. 

          My workout today will include:

                    - 5 Minute Warm-up

                    - Dynamic Stretches- High knees pulls, Butt Kick pulls

                    - Stationary Bike Interval Training

                           -1 Minute High Resistance High RPM  

                           -30 Seconds Lower Resistance Low RPM

                           -30 Seconds High Resistance High RPM

                           -30 Seconds Lower Resistance Low RPM

                           -REPEAT X8 (hint: Change resistance levels for help but make sure to challenge yourself.)

                     -Abs- 

                            -20    V Toe- Touches

                            -1 Minute Pushup Plank

                            -20 Each side Bicycle Crunches

                            -1 Minute Pushup Plank

                            -20 Each side Crossover Sit-ups

                            -As many pushups as I can do. 

                            -Repeat X2

                       -5 Minute Cooldown Walk/Run

                       -Stretch- Anything that either feels tight or fatigued.
                       -Protein Shake- I believe Protein Shakes are vital to recovery (even on cardio days.)

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The Beginning of Your Healthy Lifestyle

Fitness as a Mantra

My Goal, My Story, My Mission Being a college or university student often provides numerous challenges to maintaining or beginning a "Fit" lifestyle. This blog is devoted to providing daily advice, motivation, and sample workouts that have been proven to improve my life and my fitness while still being a social college student.


As most college students are, I was fearful of the dreaded "Freshman Fifteen" It is one of the most talked about topics when High School students are beginning to talk about their fears of going off to college. The "Freshman Fifteen" is contributed mostly to being away from home for the first time in your life. You have to make your own decisions for the first time in your life. You have to decide whether to have that delicious piece of Pizza or that lean-meat Stir Fry that can often be equally tasty. The majority of kids who go from being active in sports in high school, do not play sports in College. This leads to a large amount of students who for the first time in their life may be thinking to themselves, "I have nothing to train for, why should I go workout." I know personally, I had that exact moment. I went through the majority of Freshman year thinking that those fifteen pounds were just a myth and nobody actually gained fifteen pounds in their freshman year... I was SOOOOOOO WRONG. By Christmas break I was pushing a Freshman Twenty around hanging off of my stomach and love handles. By the end of Freshman year, I had gained FORTY pounds and you could not even imagine what that did to my prior 4-Season High School Athlete body.. It was disgusting and the end of Freshman Year of College, I vowed to never slip into that kind of lifestyle again.

                                                                                 My Story

In the Four month summer that followed
freshman year, I decided to make a conscious decision to lead a healthier lifestyle, not only to exercise more, but to eat healthier. I would not recommend jumping into as hard of a routine as I did. I lost 40 POUNDS in the six months after I decided I needed a change. This kind of dramatic loss is not even reachable for most people. Me being a wrestler in high school, I had come up with some knowledge and extreme ways in keeping my cravings in check, and turning working out into an addiction. A healthy addiction not only have a sexy body, but to be physically fit.

My goal is to keep all of you readers away from not only the dreaded "Freshman Fifteen" but help you achieve and sculpt the body that you want.