Okay, here we go:

8/21/2009:

Currently

weight: 140
Bodyfat: 9%
Abs: can see 4 if I flex

Goal

weight: 155
bodyfat: 6% flat
abs: 6 of them all the time

I'm going to try to work into interval training, but keep the cardio time the same, so instead of constant pace at 20 or 30 min hopefully I can get myself interval training for the same amount of time. Despite being tested for bodyfat and discovering I'm barely in the single digits, the abs aren't showing, so I'm on a quest for the abs and for some strength.

I want to hit the 155 mark and stay there. At 5'10 150/155 seems a good place to be, and to simultaneously lower bf while gaining muscle will be extremely difficult.

My nutrition will be invariably strict to hit such req's, but it's currently at 2300 on workout days, 2000 other days. All meals are at least 10% protein, and 10% or lower in fat. I have a shake about once a day - I use a frozen nectarine and orange juice instead of a banana and milk. While it's not creamier, it actually is exactly like icecream....it's delicious. I like to eat chicken and wheat bread, so I have a chicken sandwich about once a day, and I eat a lot of vegetables. The diet's very simple, very spartan, but after months of eating it, I've actually grown to prefer it to greasier fatty foods.

I do cheat in that if my girlfriend's eating choc-chip cookie-dough icecream (which she does about once a week), I like to steal a cookie-dough piece from her


Beginning at the end of this week, so this is what I've done this week. From input I've been getting, my cardio was over the top, strange as that might seem. Trying to get my abs bigger, hopefully that'll solve my abs mystery.


Workout program thus far:
 
(Each day has a day of rest in between - the inbetween days get 200 pushups and that's it)

______________________________________________________________________________________
Day1:
Cardio - Running 40 minutes (7:30 miles)
Pushups - 6 sets of 50, work up to 4 sets of 100
Crunches - 100

Day2:
Cardio - Swim 30 minutes (as hard as I can go)
Bench: 8x150x130x140
Incline press: 8x130x110x120
Decline press: 8x100x110x100
Skull crushers: 10x25per arm, 8x30per arm, 8x25per arm
Tricep lift (weight behind head): 8x50x40x45
DB Flys: 8x40x45x40
Abs - Scooby's killer ab workout, beginning with 35 lbs.

Day3:
Cardio - Run 20 min (7 min miles), 20 minute walk later
Bicep curls (per arm): 8x35x30x30x25 (the last ones hurt so bad)
DB shoulder press (per arm): 8x50x45x55x30
Shoulder lat machine: 10x140, 8x150x150
Squat: 8x190x180x190

Had to cut this one short, so I blasted in 200 pushups and got out.

Day4:
Cardio - 30 minutes (7:45 miles)
Deadlift:8x140, 12x150, 2x200
Quad press:8x240, 10x210, 12x200

Went rock climbing for 3 hours after....was pretty miserable if you can imagine.

8/24/09

Started out with 100 pushups right after waking up, which was a pretty rude way to wake up haha.

bkfst - 4 eggwhites w/ 2 pieces wheat toast (260 kcal)
meal2 - can of tuna, with a wheat biscuit and cup of these frozen stir fry veggies (220 kcal)
meal3/lunch - chicken on wheat sandwich (290 kcal)

workout - today's an offday, so I dig 2 min of planks, 50 crunches, and jumped into the pool for 35 min cardio.

The tricep/chest workout from yesterday was pretty rough on the swimming, especially considering I was going pretty much 70-80% the whole time. I was dizzy by the end and sweating after I dried off, but it felt really good.

meal4 - scoop of chocolate whey+frozen banana+1 cup nf milk = shakkkkkke. I do enjoy that somehow the ingredients and blender combine to quadruple the volume of the shake. (305 kcal)

meal5 - tba. Thinking some salmon with vegetables but nothing concrete.

meal6 - I have to go tutor kids tonight, so I'll be packing up some cooked bellpeppers and chicken in a sandwich bag. (240 kcal)

I'll have a cup of broccoli when I get back, for a total of just under 1600 kcal, then throw in 50 pushups right before lights out.

@ Uglok - my body is currently so damn stubborn, I guess that's the reason I'm being so harsh. When I went to East Asia about a month ago, I lost 10lbs, but no six pack showed. I also found out from a dunktank measurement that at 129 and 5'10 my bf was only 7% and STILL no 6-pack. Therefore if I'm going to put in the time, I want to do this right.

/////////Today////////////

meal1/bkfst - 1 cup whole wheat cereal w/ 1 medium sliced banana and cup of water - (270 kcal)
meal2 - yogurt w/ slice of wheat bread, 1/4 can salmon - (240 kcal)

gym
cardio - 23 min treadmill - 19 min at 7:30 pace, increased speed by .5 mph each minute for the last 4 minutes, was hauling by the end.
roller - this little device with handles that you roll out with for a nice little ab exercise. I like doing it just to cool off a bit.
bicep curls (per arm) - 5x35, 8x35x30x30x25 - did this to failure. the last set, despite being 20 lbs total less than the first set, hurt so much more, but in a good way. I'm really focusing on killing each muscle per exercise, I'm not here to fool around.
db shoulder press - 8x35x40x35x35x30 - did this to failure. the tricep lift from the other day was still lingering in my muscles, and it was pretty exhausting to hit those last two sets.
back hang - 10x45x45x45 I'm pretty terrible with terminology, but it's the device where you lean forward with a weight and lift yourself back up with your lower back. I enjoy this exercise, always makes me feel the workout.
lat pulldown - 8x130x150, 10x150x150 - at this point I was in pretty zoned in on the workout, and having done the shoulders and biceps already, I almost died doing these.
quad slide - 8x250x250x250 - zzzz
pullups - 10xbodyweight. almost couldn't do these, the last two almost didn't happen, but I got in my hour of lifting, finished off, and got out.

meal3/lunch - grilled chicken w/ spoonful of spicy salsa on 2 slices wheat bread for a really good sandwich. (300 kcal)

meal4 - hasn't happened, will be a whey shake though. (290 kcal)

meal5 - will be chicken with 2 cups frozen veggies (210 kcal)

meal6/dinner - wheat pasta w/ salmon  (320 kcal)

all told, 1640 calories pre-cardio. I might have another cup of broccoli or a scoop of whey with water before lights out.

8/28/2009

Meal1/bkfst - 2 slices wheat toast, nectarine - 260 cal
Meal2 (I had this right before gym  ) - can of tuna - 80 cal

workout:

cardio - 16 min - 7:20/mi, 1 minute - 7:00/mi, 1 min - 6:40/mi, 1 min - 6:05/mi, 1 min - 5:45/mi (20 min total)
ab roller - 10 reps
db chest press - 8x45x45x45x40x35
db incline chest press - 8x45x40x40x40x35
tricep lifts - 8x45x45x45x40x40
skull crushers - 10x25x25x25x25x25
pullups with 20 lbs added - 10x10

I was being something of a purist today - I had specific muscle workouts I wanted to hit, and to work those muscles to failure, which I absolutely did. I really enjoyed today's workout because it hurt so hard - especially the last incline and crusher sets. the last crusher set was so mangled I sort of growled at myself and made myself do another to rectify it.

Total was 50 min of lifting and 20 min of cardio. I'll be doing a Scooby's Killer Ab Routine (SKAR) later tonight.

meal3 - 1 & 1/4 cups frozen straberries+1.25 scoops chocolate whey+1 cup nf milk = chocolate strawberry protein shakkeee - 260 cal

meal4 - grilled chicken with salsa and 3 cups frozen vegetables - 270 cal

meal5 - salmon w/ 2 cups frozen veggies - 220 cal

meal6/dinner - chicken sandwich - 290 cal

1420...need to hit 1800 or so, but I'll work in another shake after dinner.

8/30/09

Had to tutor kids today, so my meals got a bit screwed up, but oh well.

meal1/bkfst - 2 slices wheat toast - 240cal
meal2 - 1/2 chicken sandwich - 180
meal3 - 2nd 1/2 of the sandwich - 180

lifesaver mint (!) - 15 cal haha

gym:

again, being something of a purist. I wanted to hit my lats, shoulders, and biceps, and to hit them as hard as possible.

cardio - 20:53 - 3 miles. Averaging just under a 7 min pace. I was dripping with sweat after this, but I really felt great.

db bicep curls - 10x25x25, 8x30x30x30, 5x35 - I probably did these too soon after such an intense cardio session, but I did ok.
db shoulder press - 8x40x40x35x35x35x30 - to failure on the last set; I went for 9 and could only push out 8.
lat axis pull down - 8x150x150x170x170x170 - this was probably my strongest point of the workout.
back dip (dip with a weight, lower back) - 10x45x45x45 - I did these very slowly, really felt it after everything else.
ab roller - 10 reps.
pullups - 10 reps @ bodyweight. They're more symbolic than anything that I gave the workout what I had.

meal4/postworkout - cup oj+scoop of whey+frozen banana - whey shake - 310 cal.
meal5 - yogurt w/ cup of veggies - 220 cal.
meal6/dinner - steak w/ a salad of cucumbers and tomatoes - around ~350 cal. Again, we have steak every sunday so not much I can do.

total - 1450 cal before the 350 or so from cardio is subtracted. I'll end up having a scoop of whey before I sleep tonight to add some more protein and calories.

///////////////////////////PROGRESS UPDATE\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

I got dunktanked right before I worked out. I am 146 lbs, up 6lbs from when I began, and I am at 8% bf, down 1% from the beginning. These are indeed small gains, but they are gains nonetheless, and it would appear that my diet and workout is working. I'll keep updating but here's hoping!

Re-read my post, then think about it. I'll give you a hint; I was taking his aim WEIGHT into account too.

Hey exsnow, those weights in lbs or kgs??

That is extremely low, i'm surprised you aren't feeling hungry/lethargic/run down. In my opinion you're going too low for effective muscle growth.

Guidelines clearly state that adult males ought to never go below 2000Kcal consumed/day. Obviously this doesn't take into account the fact that you're 10stone, but nor does it take into account the fact that you are exercising, so if I were you I would up the intake to 2000Kcal/day. If after 2 weeks you feel better and are still making losses, stick with it!

9/2/09

No workout today. I did have a 20 min walk to and from my car, don't think that counts but I'll take what I can get.

I was at the Beverly Hills library from 11-5 today, which meant my food options were limited and for the most part the good stuff was prohibitively expensive ($13.99 for a sandwich wtf)

Meal1/bkfst - wheat cereal with milk - 240 calories
meal2 - slice of bread - 120 cal
meal3 - plain bagel zzz - 290 cal

2 mints - 30 cal

meal4 - I order a chopped salad ($8.99 bargain zzz) and the woman drowns it in 'balsamic dressing', dried cranberries, and feta cheese. Considering I dislike both salad dressing and cheese it is a bitter struggle to eat the parts of the salad w/o either ingredient - variable calories, but no more than 200.

meal5 - ugh, baked bag of potato chips - 120

meal6 - 6inch roast chicken subway sandwich. again, they put cheese on it, but I got it without any sauce, just a crapton of veggies, so it was approximately 450 cal.

quasimeal7 - I took half a slice of wheat bread and dipped it in salsa... - 70 cal

total - 1520. - junky and below my normal, but eh, whatever, truthfully there was little I could do.

tomorrow's a workout, so I'm looking forward to that.