Well....don't I feel stupid?! I've been doing twice the number of exercises and sets that I'm supposed to be doing because I misunderstood the Pro-Track work-out schedule. Instead of using the tools on GHF, I was going directly to ProTrack and viewing the exercises for a particular Week/Day...and doing them ALL!!! Clearly, they are ALL listed so one can just enter the weights/reps on the ONES THAT ARE SUPPOSED TO BE DONE from the GHF schedule.

Oh well...nothing lost...but time...and everything gained...like muscle! Yeh baby! That's what I'm talkin' bout! :-)

Attached pix are from:

That's it. Just that.

Attached pix are from:
Miss Natural Southern USA 1981 - 3rd. Place - Biloxi, MS

Is there a thumb rule about recovery time?
I remember learning about measuring one’s heart rate 24 hours after intensive exercise and comparing the rate with the resting rate, and if elevated reduce the intensity of the next workout, but I can’t recall the details.

Does anybody know this rule?

Is the recovery time a function of a person’s fitness? Or age? Or both?

J Stephen

Hello,

Just a quick blog. How long does your program take in the gym. It takes me and 75 minute to complete my weight lifting portion of my program, Is this close to what others are doing?

I don't know if anyone else is experiencing the same problem but advice would be great!

I joined the gym nearest me (as I can't drive) a couple of months ago. It's a great gym but the only problem is that the weight training section each time I go is filled with guys who look like professional wrestlers - they're that hefty! Because of this I find doing the weight training parts of the workout quite daunting and always chicken out at the last minute and just do cardio (also partly due to the fact the weight machines look scary).

I was wondering if anyone else felt embarrassed...I'm not sure whether I should quit the gym, buy some weights and let my cardio suffer or stick it out and do less weight training. The thing is, apart from walking to and from work everyday (about 25 minutes each way so hardly taxing), I don't really do any other cardio.

It has been over a year since my last post here. Life got busy and I took my training in a different direction. I've changed alot about my body in the past year and I've happy with how that has gone, but 2009 is going to be a HUGE year for me in this area. I plan to post here about 1 time a week and will be lurking/reading the other posts. I missed everyone here!

Well its only a few days to Christmas and the season is very busy. Here in Canada we are experiencing a deep freeze so we don't go out much. The combination of low activity and tempting Christmas diet is a challenge. I eat well anyways but will probably eat more over the next week or two. High calories don't worry me, i seem to burn it off quite fast, but the right food is important. Fortunantly my wife is as well on her own fitness journey so she looks after our nutrition very well. We have a small home gym as well as the club we go to so the cold weather is certainly no excuse. Today

Hello,

I've not posted anything for a while, because I haven't seen much change. I'm now on week 7 workout, and I've only gained 3 lbs (up from 130 lbs to 133 lbs when I started this program). I feel much fitter, but I'm just not packing any muscle mass. I've followed the program accordingly, and taking in about 2700 calories/ day. I've been told I'm a slow gainer, so I'm wondering how many people out there share the same situation as me? Maybe I should see more progressive changes in weeks 12 - 24 ?

Any suggestions?

Last week, I only did one of the 4 workouts for Week 3. As I was away on business travel, I've asked Julia on how to train while away on travel. She was helpful in providing some home workouts using resistance bands. The travel was exhausting for me, so I couldn't complete the remaining workouts. Since I didn't feel the full benefit from Week 3 workout, I want to redo it this week.

I wonder if there's anyone out there who had skipped their workout for whatever reasons and decided to redo it again? Or perhaps I should proceed with Week 4 workout for this week?

PS I've attached a picture that I took when I first started this program.

Well, the week is almost over. I had completed 2 cardio days, and 3 workout days. Julia recommended strength training 4-days/week so I can gain muscle mass. Being a skinny guy all my life, I think it's time I have a makeover.

The workout so far is fun, although I tend to spend more time at the gym than at home. Also, yesterday at the gym, I forgot to warm up my biceps before workout, and now my biceps are a little sore. I'm not sure if I can do another biceps workout tomorrow. I'll see if the ache goes away tomorrow.

Chad recommended I stay on high carbs, so I can maximize my intake. I have to admit, the 5-meals/ day is really, really hard. Having a desk job, I have to find time to much on Meals 2 and 4. In the past, I used to have snacks (like fruits or cookies) in between, which I can multitask. But eating a real meal, now that's hard. I'm also not used to eating so often.

Well, for reasons I don't fully understand, I decided to stop posting for several weeks. Luckily, I didn't stop working out— though I haven't been as consistent as I'd prefer.

However, I'm back, and I'm going to try to hold firm to a commitment to post Monday through Thursday, even if the posts are extremely short, and to workout exactly as according to my plan— weight training Mon-Tue-Thu-Fri, and running Mon-Fri.

I lifted both yesterday and today. Here's the synoposis:

Monday

Barbell Bench Press: 15@95 lbs, 10@115 lbs, 8@115 lbs
Barbell Incline Bench: 12@75lbs, 9@85 lbs
Barbell Upright Row: 12@40lbs, 11@50lbs, 10@50 lbs

Hey guys...
This week started off exceptional. Had a great workout Mon and Tues. Jogged two miles on Tuesday at 90 degree weather and actually felt great when I finished. When I finished running, I decided to spray some evergreen trees in front of our house for aphids. The evergreens were dropping their needles, so we had a guy out to determine the best treament. He stated that we should really attack them with this spray. So, on Tuesday, I did just that. But I forgot one major element. I did not wear a mask. Boy - - have I paid for it. I'm not going to go into a lot of detail but I was out of commission yesterday all day. And yes, that was a stupid thing.

As you guys may or may not realized but I haven't posted for a couple of day or actually it's been about 5 days.

Last week started off really well, then on Wednesday, something just punched a hole in my bucket and all my good intentions fell through to the ground and all was down hill from there. Without going to any great details, my diet was shot to (H E Double Hockey Sticks). Then my family came to visit on Thur-Fri-Sat and that was difficult within itself to keep my diet in check and exercise. So there about 4 days that things didn't go so well. I was really down about it and felt that I had given up on myself. I actually thought about just quitting the program.

Got up this morning and had my pre-work out meal
1 cup of oatmeal
1 scoop of protein.
Waited an hour and had my workout.
Came in and had my boiled eggs.

This is where I'm going to have to stop and vent. I am getting so tired of eggs. This morning I thought I would up-chuck after the third egg. It's getting to the point that I would swallow them whole if I could LOL. Yes, it's getting that bad. I am wondering if anyone has this same problem and please let me know of a good complete protein to subsitute for eggs in the mornings. Or, how to get the eggs down in the mornings. I do, however, subsitute twice a week for a protein shake in the mornings but I do like to try and get my protein the all natural way.

Today has actually went pretty good. Did my workout with some mjaor hesitation at first. But I did get through it. Meals have consisted of

Pre-workout - Oatmeal
Post - Workout - 4 X-Large Eggwhites and 1 Whole Egg

About an hour later - a bowl of shreaded wheats and a protein drink.

Third meal - Chicken Breast, rice and salad.

Fourth meal - Turkey leg (no skin)and green beans.

Fifth and Final Meal - My own favorite Salmon Stew (very healthy - whole can salmon, non-margarine spread, fat free milk, fat free crackers. Almost on the same level as oyster stew but made with salmon. One of my childhood favorites.

Sunday, July 20, 2008
Today, I had for breakfast which consisted of a large protein shake and grits. After attending church, we went to Cracker Barrell and I had Chicken Breast, Pintos, mustard Greens and boiled Cabbage. About two hours later, I had an Avocado Salad (Green Salad with avocado slices, tomotoes, black olives). Approx. 3 hours later I ate a can of tuna and steamed green beans. That was around 6:00 pm. Now it's approx. 8:00 pm and I am still hungry. I felt as if I have eaten all day (which I have) and can't understand why I'm so darn hungry. I know the Cracker Barrel thing isn't that healthy but we go there after church and I do try and make a healthy choice when we do go. I have protein and veggies (no bread) and water LOL

Since yesterday was a drag, I thought I would make up for it today. We'll, what was I thinking. My Wire Fox Terrier "Rufus" had to be taken to the vet at 8:15 am, so I had to get up at 6:30 a.m. to get ready for that. He's doing good, just a bladder infection from a past bladder stone surgery several weeks ago. I did jog 2 miles on our country road with steep incline/decline hills. I will admit I'm not modivated at doing cardio. Today was a good cardio day. If that is all I get out of today, at least I accomplished something.
You guys have a great weekend. "Rufus says 'Good Morning'"

Last night, I was not able to sleep worth a darn. Got up around 3:00 am and could not go back to sleep. We'll, as you can guess, this had a great inpact on my workout. I went to workout and could not muster the stamina to get it together. I did work out my biceps but I felt as if I did not do them efficiently. I came back in the house and ate 1 cup of oatmeal and 4 egg whites/1 egg. I decided to at least get something out of the day, so I decided to go back and really pushed myself on my biceps and at least work one muscle group. I can really tell that they got a good workout, so at least I feel the day wasn't a total loss. So hopefully I can get a good nites rest and hit my leg routine tomorrow.

Thought I would post to the blog before heading to bed. Finished the day off with a good cardio walk. Pretty good healthy dinner and snack. I know I should post my meals on here but right now I'm kinda beat and my body is saying "lay me down". I will get better at this blogging before long. But right now, I"m off to bed. Hope you guys/gals have a great evening and blog with ya tomorrow.

We'll today is a new today and so far it's going pretty good. Started off this morning with 1 scoop protein with fat free milk/blueberries/creatine. Next was my workout Phase I Beg /4 days a week/week 4/workout3. I was so surprised how less fatigue I got during the workout since I ate a bit more carbs before working out. Had a pretty good workout. Worked out my chest a bit hard today which was a good feeling. Afterwards I've had a large protein shake and 1 cup of oatmeal. Normally I eat eggs for protein but I'm kinda getting tired of them so I decided to switch today.