165 Lbs of Muscle

It's funny to say that after all of this time I'm still excited by the changes I see in the mirror. It's been a long time since I "lost the weight" so having friends congratulate me and compliment me on how I'm looking has LONG past. That was a big source of motivation for me when I started working out.

Today, I'm 165 lbs hard body and pretty lean at 11% body fat as of 2 minutes ago.

Believe it or not, according to the BMI calculator I'm overweight! Fuck BMI and BMI's inventor, Adolphe Quetelet (who, based on the picture) who forgot that muscle and fat aren't the same thing.

Currently my body is shaped like this:
Forearm: 11 inches
Bicep: 15 inches
Calf: 15.5 inches
Upper thigh: 32.5 inches
Chest: 41 inches
Waist 35 inches (how are all of my pants sized 31-34? )

I don't think I'm overweight anymore but maybe my opinion is biased.

First day of the rest of my life

I guess my physical transformation is really visible to the outside world. I getting questions from co-workers about getting in shape, keeping motivated and such.

From my point of view, I think things are better than ever. You can see my abs finally!
But, unfortunately I still have love handles and I'm not nearly as tight and lean as I'd like to be.

1 week Sugar Binge

I can't believe that I'm still on this "workout thing" after so long. I really thought I would end up failing. I just find there are too many benefits to stop.

This week, however, marks something that has not happened to me before. The Sugar Binge.

I don't like sweet foods much instead favouring "salty crunchy" for my treats. I don't even like sugar in my coffee opting to drink it black.

So I find it strange to find myself at the end of a week long sugar binge. I haven't been able to get enough of the stuff this week. I've been eating big giant Costco sour keys, licorice, chocolate and Mrs Fields chocolate chip cookies. It hasn't been a good week at all from a "clean eating" perspective but I'm very cautious and controlled and eat junk food very sparingly so when my body craves junk food I give in. This time though I felt I had very little control in the decision making process. Even through the sugar headaches, upset stomach and gas, I really felt as though I couldn't help myself. Its like a drug.

I remember watching "The Human Animal" years ago on the Discovery Channel and Desmond Morris announced something about eating that I'll never forget.

1. People tend to prefer to eat meals of meat and vegetables socially (think how boring dinner and lunch would be if you always ate alone). You you cook a turkey for dinner for Thanksgiving if you were eating alone?

2. People don't mind eating sugar alone (I bet you'd eat the pumpkin pie alone)

Is there a similarity in human behaviour in relation to sugar and to alcohol or other drugs to warrant looking deeper into the psychological effects of sugar and what it does to the human body & mind?

And I'm certainly not going to stay lean by eating too much of it but my sugar binge vacation is officially over and I'm back on the wagon.

Maintenance Mode For Now

Obviously having a newborn in the house changes life an awful lot. One things that's changed for me as well is that I've been going full bore trying to find a better paying job.

Between the baby, looking for a new job and trying to get my house in better condition to sell, and not sleeping as well, I'm still working out regularily but have moved from a 2.5 year agressive muscle building routine to a 3 day a week full body maintenance routine. Still taking creatine, protein and amino acid suppliments and I think I've actually lost a few pounds. I guess it's good to keep shaking things up.

2 Week Cardio Kick

I've decided I need a 2 week cardio kick.
I'm going to lay off the weights and commit myself to 20-30 mintues of day of cardio for 2 weeks.

Maybe then I'll finally get this extra fat off of my gut once and for all!

Need some fitness or computer help?

Apparently my benefits package at work doesn't cover basic things! Who would have thunk it?

So, I've just received a nice bill from the hospital that I wasn't expecting following my wife and son's stay.

So, I can either be your trainer or help you on a computer let me know!

Christmas Fat is not phat

Christmas treats have caught up with me and I've gained a few pounds. Trying very hard to shave those back off and so far I'm on track.

I was off work for 3 weeks after my son was born and although I kept my lifting routine in check I wasn't really walking around as much I do on a normal day in Toronto.

The day after I got back to work I realized my chins really hurt from the amount of walking I had to do. WOW. It was only 3 weeks!! Amazing how efficient the body is at dropping what it's not using.

Word to the wise: Use it or lose it.

New Born, New Year and New Outlook

I've been asked a few times whether or not I'll be able to keep with my workout routine with a newborn in tow.

Master Nathan is already almost 2 weeks old and so far the routine hasn't skipped a beat except for the duration of his and his mother's hospital stay.

While staying in the hospital with my wife my diet consisted mostly of protein shakes and stealing 250 ml containers of milk. And, I won't lie about it, I completely obliterated a big bag of Doritos to celebrate my son's arrival.

I have promised my wife that I'll re-organize my workout schedule to cut down from the 4 days week to a 3. This will let give Mom a bit more time to relax while I watch the little guy.

Special thanks to my Mother-In-Law who bought me a great pair of training gloves for Christmas. I love them.

Year End Muscle Shots

Upgrading my Bowflex:
I'm really still debating on whether or not to get a new Bowflex or go for something cheaper.
Don't get me wrong, I love my current Bowflex but I've maxed out on a few exercises like Bench Press and my machine cannot be upgraded.

Recording Workout:
Now, I don't get to do it often but every once in a while I record my training sessions. This helps me watch my form and assess my overall performance.

What has recording my sessions taught me? I have a bad tendancy to watch TV between sets. so I'm not fully maximizing my time. Also, I seem to add weight to quickly week over week and lose my focus on form.

Also, it's a great way to get lots of pictures to post on my blog!

I'm looking pretty chiselled if I do say so myself so for all of those people who say you can't get muscles using a Bowflex I have to disagree. My biggest problem area remains my mid-section. I'm really starting to wonder if maybe I'll just never be happy with it but I'll keep trying.

Since I won't be seeing you with the pending new baby I will post in the new year!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Best Tricep Exercise

I've got a short list of tricep exercises that I really like:

French Press
with EZ-Curl
Dippy with added weight
Bowflex (progressive cable) Extensions
Tricep
Pushdown

Check out the full list of exercises and muscle groups here.

Promotion @ Work - Sprained Wrist - Latest Progress Pics

It's been a very busy past few weeks for me. I was recently promoted to Director and now have a pretty big staff and lots of projects that I'm responsible for. I think it's important to look the part too. I preach the "Always Be Your Best" mentality. That the more committed you are to your goals the more you'll achieve and the more satisfied you'll be when you get there. I practice what I preach and I live well, keep myself in shape and do my best to balance home and work while trying my best to be successful in everything I do. Everyone makes mistakes and everyone slips up and there's nothing learned if things are easy. Ultimately if we stay focused on our goals with a plan in place, they will be reached.

Between my baby's arrival fast approaching and looming year end deadlines at work I've had little time for blogging.

That being said, I've kept my as balanced as possible and I'm still working out. I've stayed dedicated to my nutrition, supplementation and exercise program and I've even tried to get some more cardio in which is my weakness because I generally find cardio boring.

Stupidly, in an effort to save on time, I skipped warm-up stretches and I sprained my wrist. I've been on a strict Bowflex (no free weights) and cardio until my wrist is fully healed. The Bowflex is great for this type of injury because the weight is progressive so I can still lift heavy but since it's a bowflex, the resistance is progressive. This is perfect for my sore wrist!!

Speaking of Bowflex's I've been thinking of upgrading mine. I love my Bowflex but I've currently maxed out the 210 lbs of resistance for my bench press and several other exercises. I think I'm going to aim for the Bowflex Extreme 2. If you happen to have that model tell me what you think.

Also, since New Year's is fast approaching, all of the fitness places are having great sales to cash in on everyone's new year's resolutions to get in shape. If you didn't get in shape this year it's a great time to get back on the wagon.

So almost 2 years later have I been successful at reshaping myself? Truth is, it's the mind that is harder to retrain.

My mental self-image is still of the fat guy I used to be 2 years ago. It's also challenging when you do focus on physical stuff to be un-biased. It's very easy to become overly critical. I still think my biceps and chest are too small or that my McBelly is too flabby. I guess we're never ultimately satisfied with what we have. Perhaps this is the fatal flaw in my methodology both at work and home. There is no such thing as "good enough", there's no such thing as "enough".

Getting Back to Cardio

If I've said it once I've said it a thousand times.

I hate cardio!

I would have to say that's the biggest flaw in my workouts is that I don't focus enough on cardio.

Since I bike to and from the train station I usually try to make the excuse that my biking counts as a cardio workout. And, I guess it's not untrue but I'm certainly not getting the same effect as I would if I was running.

I simply don't find it fun. Either I'm bored on a treadmill watching a crappy TV show or too hot or cold when running outside.

But, even though I keep a very consistent weight and I'm still losing fat & gaining muscle I'm not getting where I want to be fast enough.

So, that means I need to up my cardio again and stop skipping my running.

I ran 5K this past Saturday. Surprisingly, I did it in under 30 minutes which means I'm on par with where I was last September when I was training for a 10 Km run for the PBSO charity run after my daughter died.

So I'm back at it.

Quick Update

My replacement part finally arrived yesterday for my Bowflex. I'm very happy!

Tracking Progress

I've found for me that one way to keep motivated it to track my progress. It's really great to see what I used to bench, for example, compared to what I'm lifing today.

I got my first routine from the Men's Health web site a year and 9 months ago. It was a circuit training routine and being as overweight as I was at the time it was NOT EASY to get though.

However, thankfully, I kept dedicated logs of everything I did. Because of those logs, I can tell you that, for example, I've increased my bench press by exactly 250% and French Press by 225%.

Because I haven't been doing all of the same exercises for the whole time I don't have the same data for every single exercise I do. However, I do still keep meticulous records and I can tell you that in the past 3 months I've increased my bicep curl by 17% and my lateral raises by 50%. The big winner again is my bench which, in the past 3 months, I've increased by 31%.

If you aren't already doing so, track your progress!!

Crazy Week

Sorry I haven't really posted lately.

Things have been hectic around here but fortunately I'm still making time to hit the gym (well..home gym).

Amazingly, even though I'm under way more stress than usual at least I'm still sleeping well thanks to the exercise.

It's one of those weeks I guess....maybe I'll have more to say later.

Umm. What's a Canada?

Ordering a replacement part for my bowflex hasn't been as easy as I would have liked.

I contacted Nautilus online and asked them to provide me with shipping and cost details. I explained that I bought my system at a Canadian Tire in Canada. A few days later they responded with a 1-800 number to call.

So I called the 1-800 number and spoke to a very helpful man who told me the part costs 9 dollars plus shipping. Not bad I think...but something is wrong...OR YES...it's his accent.

So I respond: "Is that in US Dollars?"

He responds puzzled: "Umm...yes"

Now although the price is right (even after converting to CanuckBucks) I
really hate mail ordering product over the border. Depending on so
many variables you sometimes have to pay duties, taxes and tarrifs and it
can take a long time to get past customs....Why isn't this easier?? So much for Free Trade in action!

So I asked him if there is anyone who resells the parts in Canada.

I get a Canadian phone number which I call.

Unfortunately the experience wasn't as pleasant. Upwards of 6 phone calls over 3 days and my 10 dollar (Canadian) part is now ordered with 15 dollars shipped (FUCK). Oh, to make it even better it's going to take a "few weeks" to get here. Plus, I gave them my credit card number but I have no "order number" to follow up on. When I asked about this, the Customer Service agent said "I know, but we don't have order numbers!"

WHAT?

I'm thinking that Nautilus Canada has got be run out of people's basement offices or something and that they don't appear to be very organized or have a decent computer system.

Why More Healthy Food doesn't mean SLOW

Let's clear up a misconception. Fast Food isn't fast!
There...I said it now let me back it up.

A few weeks ago I got in line at Tim Horton's for my morning caffein drip. It took about 10 minutes to get through the line-up plus the travel time between my office and the coffee shop. I took my cup to the office, polished it off, and looked for coffee #2 from the crappy coffee machine in our office. No coffee to made so I put on a pot. Including brewing time "Office Coffee" took 6 minutes.


Now, think about a toasted chicken sandwich with romain lettuce on a whole wheat bun. A freshly baked banana muffin. This is part of my daily routine as well but they are made at home. Generally, I'm lucky enough that my wife takes the time to put my lunch together for me during the day however on the days that she doesn't not it really doesn't take me more than 5 minutes to make my lunch. How is that not FAST?

So, quite making excuses...fast food isn't fast. It fact it slows you down by making you less healthy. Even if you could get the food faster it you'd have less energy to enjoy the rest of your life.

In my opinion there is no healthy amount of fast food. Most people never need that high of a caloric intake...ever...period.

Broken Bowflex

I'm sad to say that my Bowflex is BROKEN. Less than 2 years old and the cables have started to give way. I learned this as I was doing shoulder presses and noticed a stabbing in my back. At first I thought I had pulled something....then I realized my Bowflex was STABBING me!



Anyway, I've written the people at Bowflex to see how difficult it's going to be to get a replacement cable up to Toronto! I have to admit I'm pretty disappointed in how the machine is standing up over time. It's less than 2 years old and, although I use it a lot, it should still be in good shape. After all these machines are designed to be used aren't they???????

Anyway, I'll let you know what Bowflex says. I'm hopeful it's not going to cost an arm and a let otherwise I'll scrap the Power Rods and move onto Iron Plates.

1-2 Pounds A Week

Everyone who has ever been overweight knows it's not good and they all share one thing in common. They want it off quickly and are frustrated by the 1-2 pound a week rule that everyone talks about.

If you are losing more than 1-2 pounds a week there is a very very very good chance that you are losing muscle tissue along with your fat. On a weight-scale this may look very good. The truth is though that it will end up being harder for you in the long run to maintain your weight because even though you've removed fat you've also lowered your metabolism.

Here's another interesting idea. Back on June 26th, 2006 I weighed in at 155 lbs. Today, I'm almost 10 lbs heavier. As I watched the scale go up I was so disappointed. I don't want to see the scale go up but, here's where it gets interesting.

Although I weighed 155 I had a body fat percentage of 16.4 meaning that my lean body weight was 129 lbs and the rest was fat.

Today, at 165 my lean body weight is 138 which means that the majority of my weight gain has been in muscle, not fat. In fact, I've lost a few fat pounds to boot!

Victimized

Some asshole(s) stole my bike today at the Ajax Go Train station. Whoever did it also got a bunch of other bikes too. I called the Durham Regional Police and filed a report...apparently they actually find the bikes and get them back sometimes. If you're the one who stole my bike then please accept my most sincere fuck you.

The Law Of Averages

My blog comes up a lot on people's search results looking for information on fitness and health. The one the that people seem to consistently ask is about the mysterious "Average Man". Presumably everyone wants to compare themselves to this "Average Man" to see how they rate.

Here is a list of facts that I've found while surfing the internet for these critical comparison figures:

Who is the Average Man?

The Average Guy is about 34 years old and earns about $36,100 a year. He's about 5-feet-9 and weighs 175 pounds. He's married with two children and has $3,100 in the bank.

Average Man was in the best shape of his life at 23 years old.

He gains 1.1 pounds of fat each year and looses 1 pound of muscle if he is not active.

The Average man has 18.1% Body Fat

Average Man's Measurements:

Bicep: 13 inches around (flexed)
Chest: 40 inches
Waist: 34 inches

Weight Lifting Averages (1 rep max):

Bench: 150 lbs
Leg Press: 230 lbs
Squat: 185 lbs
Arm Curl: 85-111 lbs

A year and a half - now it's your turn

I dug up some pictures that I never shared with the blogging crowd before. This was my "Week 10" Bowflex pictures. I thought I looked great (and I did compared to where I started). I'll follow it up with some picturs I took today.

Ready? Ok, here's studly me 10 weeks after starting my Bowflex routine:

Here's one week later...how handsome am I?

Please excuse the nerdy haircut. I didn't know what i was doing!!

Ok let's fast forward one very dedicated year. I think I'm starting to look MUCH better now. The mid-section is trimmed down and, over all, getting to be much learner with greater muscle mass.

Another one from the same week. My arms are looking more sculpted than ever before.

One now, a year and a half later. Here's today's pictures:

Letting it all hang out

So that's been my progress over the course of this blog (just over a year and a half).

I'm pretty happy with my results but I'd love to hear from anyone who wants to make any suggestions. I know my gut it still weak and I'm working on it but I really really hate cardio.

Lastly, I'd like to challenge you to beat my results and improve your quality and longevity of life.

If you have any questions about getting started or staying motivated, nutrition and suppliments or about equipment please email me. My email address is in my profile. I'd love to hear from you.

Good luck,

Daemon Cain

Perspective and change

Our lives are filtered by our perspective and therefore how we experience things is coloured with the same marker.

Take losing a job for instance. It feels horrible, you experience a sense of rejection and you are probably angry. However, chances are, you'll end up in a better paying job and ultimately be happier. Even if you know you'll be financially secure it doesn't stop the negative feelings associated with losing a job. Like it or not, you're dealing with change and it can be painful.

Change is always a mixed bag at best. Even if the change is good there's always pros and cons to your new situation.

It doesn't have to be this way if you use perspective to your advantage.

When I first started working out I was sore afterwards. I kept at it and eventually my body became accustomed to the abuse it was taking several times a week. Slowly that soreness stopped reporting itself as strongly to my brain. It became my badge of honour reminding me every waking moment that I was becoming better.

I work out to make sure my body fails me every single time. My GOAL is to let myself down. My goal is fail and be beaten by inanimate iron and to have to have ass whiped and served by my Bowflex's resistance rods. Some people say working out is painful. That, like all change, changing your body hurts. But let me tell you it only hurts if you believe it's pain and you believe that it's negative.

Maybe it's just me but I like the burning throb left in my biceps and the soreness in my legs as I walk up the stairs the next day. I like the way my back feels like it's going to explode if I do one more rep (so I do a full set just to add insult to injury).

It's not pain that I'm feeling as my body gets broken down. It's pure, unadulterated bliss. Beating my body is nurrishment for my soul and is where my mind can actually sleep and repare.

My daily troubles, like my ego, are checked at the door and there's nothing else to think about except my next rep and making it to 12.

Manufacturing Lies - Unregulated Suppliment Makers

I'm not saying that there aren't a lot of good suppliments out on the market. I think there's a lot of great choices for creatine, multi-vitamins and amino-acids.

But, like everyone who has been down this road before me I've been looking for a "leg up" to reach my goals faster. I've said time and time again not to buy magic potions but like everyone who is working at building their body I've become frustrated with the speed at which I'm progressing. I started researching other options for losing fat and building muscle faster.

I'd read a review about a product that supposed to boost testosterone hormone production. It costs almost $100.00 a bottle and I can't find any scientific research to back up the claim other than it's clinically proven to work in mice and that results have not been collected in humans.

Here's my rule of thumb when it comes to suppliments. If the company selling the product is releasing clinical trail data on rats (and they are selling it humans) then why in the world don't they publish human results. Products don't work the same in rats as they do humans (even if the humans are rats of the gym variety).

Think maybe if your selling testosterone boosting product it might have crossed your mind to have some blood drawn on one or 2 of their users to see if maybe the stuff worked? Just a thought....

As a consumer I'm going to demand more. I'm currently taking creatine monohydrate, L-Arginine and a multi-vitamin. I'm axiously looking for any new suppliment that is backed by real research by a company who is actually trying to make products that work.

If you know of any please let me know and if I agree with you then I'll post them.

Time for a nutrition review

"Shut up and put your money where your mouth is!", I said to myself very quickly after posting the post prior to this one.

I spent a few hours yeterday going over my nutrition plan to make sure I hadn't slipped up too badly.

What I found was a bit surprising. I discovered that I was actually eating smaller meals than my 1,500 calorie a day plan allows. No wonder I was always so hungry at night and basically going bonkers without snacks.

Fortunately for me I've been snacking healthy and not letting too much crap get in me. But it's starting to make sense.

So, after some careful consideration I've made the proper adjustments to my meal plan and I'm back on track. More food earlier in the day to curb the nighttime snacking fits that turn directly into fat. So, rather than eating it at night I'll eat it throughout the day.

Hopefully this will cause a quick melt on the remaining love handle/back fat situation.

Height: 5'6
Current weight: 155 lbs
Target weight: 160 lbs
Current body fat: 16.4%
Target body fat: 10%

That means I still have 11 pounds of fat to lose and who knows how many pounds of muscle to gain. But I'm comitted to my goals and I will get there!