Cheap Workout Sunday Report 6

This was a weird session today!  I felt tired and did everything wrong before lifting.  I ate some food, laid down and watched TV before lifting, falling to sleep in the process…  I woke up groggy and dreaded working out even.  Starting, I even thought to my self that my heaviest bench press was going to be 205 for 4 reps.

Starting out, 135 felt heavier than I thought it should have felt, so again it re-enforced my believe that today was going to suck.  I was very surprised when I tried 205 lbs and got three more reps than I got the last time.  So much for taking it easy this week…

  • Bench:
    • 45 lbs –   the bar for 8 reps (my left shoulder click a bit).
    • 135 lbs – 8 reps, surprisingly wasn’t light as I hoped, no clicking in the shoulder like with 45 lbs above.
    • 185 lbs –  8 reps (heavier than I thought, but also kind of felt like a warmup set like back when I was in college).
    • 205 lbs –  8 reps (felt strong out of the gate, 6 was easy so I kept going.  By the 8th rep I was growling, it was tough for me).
    • 165 lbs – warm down set (8 reps, did this set slowly and it felt light.)
  • Curls (Switched to Barbells this week)

    • 25 lbs – for 10 reps, each arm
    • 55 lbs – for 4 reps, each arm, very hard… very, very hard in fact!
    • 35 lbs – for 8 reps (heavier but lighter than last week).
  • Rows
    • 135 lbs – 8 reps (not as heavy as last week, but made me light-headed)
    • 115 lbs – 8 reps (hard, but I was already tired, good set though).
  • No weight squats
    • 2 set of no weight squats for 10 reps each.  Neither leg hurt this week.
  • Goals
    • To bench press 250 lbs by the end of the year.  I’m pretty sure I can at least get 225 for 1 rep (maybe 2).  Until I can get 205 for 10 easy reps, I’m just going to stick with 205… why push it.  At least I’m not feeling as sore anymore.
    • I would like to be able to curl 55 lbs for 8 reps using decent form eventually.  I’ve always gain quickly with curling, so I’m now sweating this.

I realize that I might be gaining back faster than I want.  I have to build up my tendons and support muscles before pushing too heavy too quickly.  It is hard not to keep gaining quickly, but I really need to control my progress!  Hmm, it’s only 1 hour since my workout, and already I feel sore in my pecs… go figure, so much for not being sore 🙂

On the disappointing side, I stopped trying to lose weight for a while so I could build muscle, etc.  I’ve gained 4 lbs instead of losing weight.

Interesting and good, but bizarre day!

Don

Getting Paid To Lose Weight

Working Out

Many companies are starting to encourage their employees to improve their health.  First they restricted smoking in the office and now many are focusing on the overweight crowd.  Where I work, I’m excited to say that I’m going to get paid to lose weight!  Bonus!

While it’s only a few hundred dollars, it’s perfect for me because I wanted to lose weight anyway.  The thought process by employers is that a healthy employee is a more productive employee!  They are more productive because they are sick less and think better when they are in shape!  I know that this is true in my particular case!

So since I’m now getting paid to lose weight, I decided to create a diet and exercise journal that I will post every Friday.  After a shopping run for the needed foods for my diet and a quick design of the journal spreadsheet, next Friday, I’ll post my results.

Okay, One Problem!

When people go on a diet or start to workout, they usually spend more than if they weren’t on a diet.  For example, both Weight Watchers and a gym memberships add to the cost of getting healthy.  My goal during this process is not only to lose weight, but also to spend less money than I would if I weren’t trying to lose weight!

An alternative goal of mine is to make money off of this diet/exercise process by spending less on food.  This is another way that I will indirectly get paid to lose weight.  I expect that I’ll save more money by spending less on food than what my company will pay me if I meet my weight loss goal.

My Process

Basically it’s a simple routine!  I’m going to eat food like eggs, brocolli, beans, oatmeal and other cheap but healthy foods.  As for working out, I’m going to start out with just situps, pushups, and a leg exercise.

My Current Weight

As of today, I’m 5′ 10″ and I weight 247 lbs.

I think it should be pretty interesting seeing my progress on the amount I save in food expenses vs my regular spending.

-MR