Resolutions. :)

[volksdragon]

I made a exercise/working out resolution to myself a few days ago, and after reading rawrin's journal for a while today, I decided I was inspired enough to post it here, and perhaps even document progress.

I decided I am going to be able to bench-press (on a machine) 250 pounds.

In January, without too much warm-up, I could do 190 twice. Since June, I've been doing pushups, and I've started doing some workouts with my trusty 25lb barbell. I feel stronger than I did before, at least I LOOK stronger than I was then. Unfortunately, they closed the gym/workout area in our building, so I'm without machines to use to find out what I can actually do now, and where I have to go to get there. I don't even know if I can do it with just at-home workouts the way I'm doing now.

I guess I'll just keep on doing as many pushups as I can stand, and curls and other random weight workouts I can remember from going to the gym with this barbell, and see where I can. I'll post updates as I go, so if you want to hear about them, feel free to let me know, and I'll put you on the Workout list I'm going to create. Hopefully, documenting this will help me keep it up.

Comments

[dchenes.livejournal.com]

Put me on the list, please. As of August 16 I'm giving up TIM for the duration of grad school, so I won't know anything that's going on except through LJ.

How many pushups can you do now?

[scirocco.livejournal.com]

For the record, 3 sets of 10, interspersed with dumb-bell sets for biceps between each set of pushups.

[biophile6.livejournal.com]

Its remarkable how much similarity we have. I had no upper body strength, much less abs. And it wasnt until I started training them that I could play lead trumpet or run faster. Strange.

Anyway. What I found in working the upper body was that you have to work separate parts on separate days, AND you have to feed the weary muscles protein right after you work them.

I was futile a while back. Seems as how if you deplete your plasma amino acids (first twenty minutes after fatigure, mostly) you're gettign those aminos from the liver, and OTHER MUSCLES. Bleah. Better to saturate the importers with plasma nutrients. No sense robbing one muscle for another. Its a zero sum economy of growth food.

I couldnt make much progress until I realized this. It was totally futile to work too many groups all at once onthe same day. Better to do one hard day of arms and chest, and let those groups eat plasma nutrients, than to do modest damage to too many groups, and have nothing for the myocytes to eat and grow with. My recovery was way fast when I started with the protein supplement, even up to about 120g a day. Pro lifters suck up a gram per pound, but I cant see that as doing anything but giving you uric acid stones from having a stupid nitrogen balance.

Just comments and biochemistry...

Re:

[scirocco.livejournal.com]

So, doctor, what do you recommend I eat after pumping muscles up?

[biophile6.livejournal.com]

I always make sure to get a protein load in right afterwards. You dont want your nitrogen balance to drop to the point where you induce synthesis of the amino acids you can make from acetate (about half). Not only are you burning weight that way, but you cant really make muscle from it; theres no tryptophan or lysine in it. Its like trying to compensate for not having enough letters in scrabble, by adding back only a g h j y ei sl and f. Whay can you spell with that? Not protein.

The most available protein (powder form) is whey. NOT collagen. Which is gross hydrolyzed wierd stuff anyway, and made of insoluble alpha helices. Second best is a powder supplement with lactogolbulins. Theyre soluble and digestible.

I recommend Isopure. Or pure whey. Mixed into a pint of non acidic juice with creatine 5g/day.


I pressed 210 today. I searched for my records. I'll find them...

You should go for 265.