How do you decide when to move up in weight on your exercises?

How do you decide when to move up in weight on your exercises?

Day 2 - Now we're talking

Ok so 6:30am didn't happen...... I was actually up at about 6:15!! Have to admit it was a horrible experience but my wife had an important day today so she needed some help this morning. It was the excuse I needed to get my ass moving.

So had the morning porridge (which is minging), sorted the wife out for work, walked the dog then dropped him off at the in-laws.

Headed down to the other gym that's on the way to work.. It's much bigger and has more weights (thank god).

Workout was:
3 sets x 6 reps bench
3 sets x 6 reps incline bench
2 sets x 8 dips
15minute run on treadmill 2.4km covered

So it doesn't look like much, but I'm going to maximum gains so I'm lifting weight much heavier than I usually do and working it so I can just about hit the 6th rep on each set. Time will tell

Feeling good now that I've started. I'll see how I feel after putting in an 11hr day to sort this game out

Tomorrow no gym, 5-a-side football good cardio workout

Laters

1st day training results

Ok so the first day is soon to be over, still at work for a little bit longer but shouldn't be too bad.

I've felt really tired today, I'm putting it down to a combination of eating high protein low carbs and the first session in the new training regime.

So Diet for today, here it is:
Breakfast: 1/2 cup porridge, small black coffee
Pre - workout: Protein shake with Glutamine & Creatine (mixed with water)
Post - workout: Same
Snack: 1/2 Chicken breast
Lunch: 1 Tin Tuna & Salad
Evening: Chicken breast & salad
Night (not decided yet): Protein shake with Glutamine

It looks like a lot but i'm friggin starving right now

Early night, need to hit the new gym as it's Chest tomorrow roll on 6:30am

Laters

Tuesday - TRAINING STARTED!

So I didn't manage to get up for 6:30am as I would have like. It was 7am instead so it's progressively improving.

As the mornings are going to be my only time free to train I needed a real kick in the arse to get started, I hope this was it but the actual training itself was a bit of a let down.

I opted to head for the gym near the in-laws. It meant I could drop the dog off then shoot over there for a solid hour of training.

I didn't actually realise how tiny this gym was. In regards to free weights there is faff all, I mean it....
They don't have any barbells at all. The heaviest dumb bell I found was 22kgs and that's not heavy enough for what I'm trying to do here. (Well it's usable for some stuff but not everything).

So I made do, managed to get some shoulder work done and a few crunches - not as intense as I would have liked but I think the first week is going to see where exactly my limits lie.

Diet started today as well, I'll post the diet on a seperate thread later today if I get the chance.

As for work, well only in the office an hour and it seems quiet. Which is a problem in itself, we have 1 final week of fixing before we lock into final submission mode so everyone should be fixing shit. So we'll see there's still a full day ahead....

I hate Mondays

So the plan as I typed into my blog window last night was this:
Off to bed early for an early start to get the dog out and walked then off to the gym for a decent hour and that would mean the start of my new regime...... in theory

What actually happened after I typed......
The dog's been suffering with Kennel Cough and to top it all off he started pissing blood last night. So we thought we'd wait until morning to see if he's improved before making a call.
It was a rough night. He slept poorly, and it was at least 25+ degrees last night. Holiday abroad heat

Woke up wrecked, got out of bed at 7am....no gym no proper diet start.

My kit is in the car though. We shall see, overtime likely tonight

Sunday's a day of rest

Circuits didn't happen. The wife and I went out to a BBQ last night and had a few drinks. Which meant a morning lie-in.

But there will be some training today guaranteed. Not at work, but have a monster week coming up with submissions and i'm sure there will be plenty opportunity to fall off the wagon.

1st gym session is planned for 7am tomorrow morning

Friday morning - plans not started yet

Friday - weight 192lbs

So only 1lb on over the last few weeks isn't bad considering all i've been doing (concerts, OT, late night eating and a few beers)

I'm impressed that I've survived this stretch and not ballooned even further!

Plan of action today - healthy eating might get a run in tonight and even a visit to the gym tomorrow all being well. Circuits planned on Sunday

So the introduction of supplements is going to wait until Monday so I can start my new training regime

I've opted to go for a Max OT training plan to run alongside my new diet. Ideally I'll be avoiding alcohol during this process (but have 2 weddings to attend so we'll see how that goes!)

Wish me luck

It's been a week of working hell

So I've not been in a position to post for a while. I've been absolutely swamped with work. I did manage to get last weekend off but being 'on call' isn't all that great. The unknown is a pain in the ass.

There's been no weighing over the week, I'm going to leave that until the morning (Friday)

I've decided that it is now time to stop dicking about and get serious if I'm ever going to make any progress with training.

So I thought that I'll play football today, eat sensible then weigh in tomorrow morning. Friday is now going to be my main weigh in day. I'll re-start the photos (though nothing has changed) on Friday or Saturday that I'll decide tonight.

So I've been on and bought some supplements that I'm going to use in an aid to sort this out.
I got some huge inspiration from a guy called Stuart MacDonald who lost a tremendous amount of weight to become a body builder - Website here

This is him:

Now he did go on to lose even more and competed in a bodybuilding tournament. I'm not intending on going that far somewhere in the middle will suit me!

So the supplements that I'll be using are:
True Whey Protein
CLA
Creatine Monohydrate
Glutamine
And some multi-vitamins

So the new phase of this starts tomorrow hopefully with a trip to the gym as well

I'll post my routine after I've been at it 1 week

Thursday afternoon...tired

So yesterday was a fairly good day. I finished early (if you call 5pm an early finish), then went out for dinner with my Wife as we've not seen a great deal of each other over the last 2 weeks.

So down to the little Italian near the house. She had to have Garlic bread with cheese (you need to taste to understand why) I sneaked 2 small slices.

Main course was a Ribeye steak with vegetables - was tasty but you do miss the creamy sauce and chips that comes with it!!

Did a little weight session before bed 'just in case'.

Think I'm back to starting weight.

Tomorrow's weight will be different, it has to be...

Tuesday good - Wednesday sad

So Tuesday has been the 2nd day over the last 7 that I've managed to eat well. Don't get me wrong, when I'm at work I'm eating fine, it's been the point when I get home that's been the issue.

So on the scales this morning - 192lbs - That's 1lb on!!

I don't know what to make of it to be honest. I've had a really bad week of eating (pizza, chinese etc) from Friday to Sunday so only 1lb isn't the worst.

I have a busy weekend ahead so hopefully I can keep the weight down now. Football tomorrow so that usually shifts a couple...

Monday blues

So healthy eating went pretty well yesterday until I had the opportunity to go home early.

The Father in law was cooking tea (Gammon and poached eggs - not that bad, right?)

Only trouble was it was surrounded by chips and beans as well. :(

So another bad evening.... I honestly think it's better to be working at least now I can control what goes into my mouth.

1 day left before weekly weigh-in, It's going to be a carb-free day. Protein all day I reckon

It's only 12:30 so we'll see...

Getting over the weekend hump

so the weekend did me no favours. With my wife constantly complaining that she's not in a position to cook I've suffered for it.... Chinese last night. Although I ate half of what I normally do so we'll see the damage in a few days

Weigh-in will be on Wednesday as that'll be a week from my 1st post. Think it's more encouraging to track it that way.

Monday will be a day of extremely healthy eating and making sure to get some exercise in.

No Overtime tonight, that's tomorrows plan.....

Sunday morning....at work

Currently on day 11 of continuous working, it's starting to really take it's toll both from a training point of view and plain tiredness.

Training hasn't happened since Thursday....work has been to blame for that. To add, yesterday as a thank you for overtime efforts and hitting our first candidate master Pizza and Beer was brought in by the bucket load. Another hit.

Then once I manage to get home after my 11 hour shift, my wife rolls in drunk, with Cheesy Chips!!

So the diet has taken a knock this weekend. But Sunday is here, and it's healthy high protein meal for today.

If I manage to get outta here at a decent time, I might be fit to go for a run later

No weighing today, will leave that for Monday morning.

Friday night blues

So yesterday was a day of feeling pain. I forgot that after a long layoff from weight lifting your muscles really hurt for a long time after a gym session.

Eating wise the day went really good, I avoided the temptation of pastry morning and the allure of the OT cupboard, which holds countless sugary goodness.

Instead, I ate Tuna for lunch and Chicken for tea. Worked a 10hr shift and went home to an empty house.

Thought I'd get a quick 'kinect' session in so blitzed out 15minutes on Ubisoft's Your Shape.
As I finished, my wife came in with left over pizza...... Goddamit

Too tempting to miss I had two relatively small slices and didn't eat the crust. I then went to bed feeling guilty and looking forward to having to work this week - 10am in the office.

Photos

So in a bid to shame myself into not giving up on this quest - Here are my starting shots
I'll aim to put these up every Saturday in order to track progress.

2 days later....pain

So after a night of gym induction and an hour of 8-a-side football yesterday, I have to admit I'm well and truly knackered. To be honest, the induction was simply this:
Instructor - Have you used a gym before?
Me - Yup
Instructor - Ok, if you need to know how to do anything i'm here until 9pm
Me - Sure

This then compelled me to stay a further 40mins and work out. I could hardly just leave after that 'intense' induction could I?

Combining this with OT at work has left me exhausted. I had an evening off yesterday. By 7pm I was asleep on the sofa. That hasnt' happened in a long time.

I worry now that being almost 29 years old and the stress that comes with being a manager is starting to take it's toll.

They do say though - The fitter you are, the more energy you have

Fingers crossed

Weight this morning 191lbs

Blog No.1 - Introduction to quest

So here we begin.

I've been working in video games development for 6 years now. I am currently the QA manager for a highly recognised publisher. So I run a team of people who 'play games all day'.

Over the course of my career my weight has gone up and up and up. This is the result of many months in crunch time. Fast food has been the main constant in this period.

I currently stand at 5ft 7" weighing in at 195lbs. For a small guy that's a lot!

So, my quest is do the reverse of what I've been doing in the past. Every time we approach a project submission, the OT kicks in and the weight increases.

This time it's going to be different

I will attempt to actually lose weight, and will jot down my journey for the world (potentially) to observe.

So here we go:
Day 1, Wednesday 8th June 2011 Current weight: 195lbs

Tonight my gym induction...