Happy Friday readers!!
I was motivated today, so instead of a full-blown rest day, I chose to do 30 minutes of cardio today with a 5-minute cooldown, totaling 35 minutes. I also resupplied my supplements today, adding a few new ones to my daily regimen. I’ve added a stronger Testosterone booster called Nugenix by GNC, and a Probiotic, which has a specialized culture in it that augments the body’s uptake of amino acids. The brand name on this one is called Digestive Advantage. I got a 60-day supply for $19 US.
Adapting
There are so many systems in our body that are stressed when we exercise. Cardio stresses the cardiovascular system more than weight lifting does. Weightlifting stresses the muscular, joint, and skeletal systems. It also stresses the cardiovascular system. Interestingly, what most people forget about is the nervous system. When exercising with weights, the nervous system will typically give out sooner than the muscles, joints, or skeletal systems. The primary reason, from what I’ve read, is that each time a muscle fiber is activated, your nervous system is taxed.
The activation of the nervous system in a certain way is dictated by the exercises you do in the gym. Each time you alter your routine, your nervous system has to “re-learn” how to accommodate the routine you require it to support. Subsequently, this is yet another reason why we have to alter our workouts every 4-6 weeks (see www.jimstoppani.com). Once you have “learned” a routine (typically about 4 weeks or so), the nervous system, muscle system, circulatory system, etc., have all “adapted” and are so well-honed, they are assisting the body to do the work with the least amount of effort necessary. When this shift in performance occurred, fewer muscle fibers are needed, and the body is not taxed as hard as it would be when introduced to a new routine. This reduces the body’s need to adapt and you start to experience depleted results if you see anything at all.
Diet
As you can see, if you’ve been following my macros, I am all over the place. This is a new thing for me. Before I started examining what I was eating, I would literally eat what I wanted, when I wanted, and just work my tail off in the gym. Well, when I was 20, I could get away with that. Now that I am 53, not so much. Subsequently, I started researching what other bodybuilders do to make gains in muscle mass while reducing weight. I am only interested in those things in my diet that allow me to grow naturally. I am not an advocate of using steroids or any other “banned” substance to get results. I realize that professional bodybuilders need these things in order to compete at that level, but I am only doing this because I am interested in taking care of myself as long as I am physically able to do so. That being said, one of the things I’ve learned over the last 10 weeks is that my digestive system needs to adapt to this amount of food as well.
One of the things I discovered when I increased my protein intake, using shakes and all the rest, was that I became bloated and constipated. I’ve been researching and looking around for a solution and finally discovered the need for a probiotic. One thing I would like to stress is the individual nature of our bodies. Some folks can eat a lot of food and do not require probiotics. Others, like myself, need those probiotics to keep “regular” and actually absorb the increase in nutrients my body needs to accommodate the exercise, muscle gain, and weight loss goals I have. The key is to measure, experiment, and adjust accordingly. Like me, you’ll find that formula for what works and hopefully stick with it.
Some of the foods I am gravitating towards are:
- Eggs
- Protein (Whey)
- Steak
- Pork Chops
- Skinless, boneless, chicken thighs, chicken breasts, and chicken tenders (sliced up chicken breast).
- Bacon (sparingly)
- Oatmeal
- Sweet Potatoes
- Red/White/Golden Potatoes (sparingly)
My eating schedule starts at 11:30 am (breakfast) followed by 6 other meals every two hours, starting at 1:30, 3:30, 5:30, 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm.
What I am striving for is a static diet that will make it easier to maintain current macro requirements, avoiding the “roller-coaster” diet I’ve been on for the last month. One of the benefits of what I’ve done (although accidentally) is the ability to look at my average intake over the last 30 days, so I have a baseline to continue forward with this month. I’ll get this up, once I crunch the numbers this week (Probably on Monday, when I kick up week 3 of the Shortcut to Size program I’m following currently. Stay tuned.)
Today’s Exercises
35 minutes of Cardio using an Elliptical exercise machine
Current Bodyweight
My current weight is 240lbs and I am 6’ tall. The goal is to be around 245-250 by the end of this 12-week workout and maintaining my body fat percentage, which is around 20%. This is higher than I’d like, but during any bulking phase, it is quite common to gain some body fat or stay where you started because of a large amount of food a mass building program requires.
Yesterday’s macros
Carbohydrates 235g; Fat 79g; Protein 235g
Supplements and Water intake
Water
Water intake is more than a gallon a day. I drink a 1/2 gallon of water just with my pre-workout, during, and post-workout drinks. The rest of my water intake is around my meals (six in total each day). I currently feed every two hours.
Morning
- AlphaJym
- ShredJym
- PreJym combined with flavorless Whey Protein (25g)
During Workout
- BCAA drink during workouts with flavorless Whey Protein (24g)
Post Workout
- PostJym Dextrose and BCAA Matrix combined with flavorless Whey Protein (24g)
- OmegaJym
- VitaJym
Evening
See you tomorrow!!
