GOMAD update 1

19 03 2012

Just a quick update.  Started GOMAD on 2-27-12, 3 full weeks ago.  Been hitting all my lifts (as long as I go today).  Probably missed about 2.5 gallons of milk so far, which you can see in the Ongoing – GOMAD page.

My body weight is actually a couple pounds higher than where I expected it to be after first week of Madcow.  During GOMAD/Madcow last year, I was around 172 pounds at this stage, so that’s good to hear.  I might try to get up to 185 or 190 pounds instead of just 180, but it depends on how I feel, if I get a job, etc.

Currently I would say lifting this heavy and drinking a gallon of milk a day is taking it’s toll.  Definitely have to use the toilet more often, but as long as I spread the milk throughout the day and eat plenty of solid food plus vegetables it’s all good.  My body is generally fatigued, but that may also be due to the fact that my sleep schedule is terrible.  Currently fixing that so I’ll see how I feel in a week or so.

Other than that there isn’t much to say.  Just gotta keep plugging away!





Switching Workouts

12 03 2012

I am switching my workouts from Stronglifts 5×5 to Madcow, check out my google doc to follow along.

Stronglifts 5×5 is a beginner program in which you add weight every time you go to the gym.  As you can imagine, this eventually becomes too much and your body can’t keep up.  I’m just about at this point.  From here you go to an intermediate program which you add weight every week instead of every workout.  I am going to be doing Madcow, an intermediate program recommended by Stronglifts.

I did Madcow last year starting on April 18th, 2011 and, as you can see below, my current weight/strength is at about the same level.  I also did GOMAD back then, so basically I’m just re-doing the same thing I did a year ago.  I could probably squeeze out a few more workouts of linear gains, but mentally it’s really hard, so I’m switching to Madcow now.

Madcow Spreadsheet 2011

If my weight follows the same growth pattern as it did last year, I will reach 180 pounds in a mere 5 weeks.  Depending on if I get a job or not, I may push my weight higher or stop there.  After reaching my goal weight, I want to experiment with other workouts.





Self Experimentation/Demonstration: GOMAD, muscle gain, good health, etc

27 02 2012

Please read the whole article before commenting on how crazy I am.  But, feel free to post that.  It will just make it funnier in 2 months when I prove you wrong.

If you don’t know already, GOMAD = Gallon of milk a day.  Note: I’ve done GOMAD twice before so I pretty much know what to expect, which is why this is a experiment/demonstration.

Where I Am Now

Since new years I have been lifting lightly and slowly getting back into shape.  I’m finally at a reasonable point (Deadlift, 265, Squat 215, Bench 150, Row 150, Overhead Press 120) and am going to kick it into high gear.  I currently weigh 168 lbs, my goal is 175 lbs with a good body fat %.

My Plan

Exercise

Stay on my current linear progression lifting program (based on Stronglifts).  I will probably have to switch to an intermediate program soon enough.  See my current results as well as projected workouts here.

Diet

Eat my normal diet (low/slow carb mostly, but plenty of crap also), but add GOMAD.  Stay on this until I reach 180 lbs (should be 2 months), at which point drop GOMAD and cut down to 175 lbs while attemping to not lose any muscle mass.  I may do only half a gallon of milk on Sat and Sun since I don’t lift those 2 days in a row.

Health

For fun, after I reach my goal of 180 lbs I will get a cholesterol test to show you the reader what happens.  Either you’ll be surprised by awesome numbers or I’ll be surprised by crappy numbers.

Demonstration

I will try to photo every bit of food I eat until I reach my goal of 175 lbs and post the photos to my flickr account.  You can follow along with my workout progress here.   I took a video since photos are easily altered and posted it below, and I will repeat at 180 lbs and 175 lbs.  At the end of my GOMAD I will get a lipid panel (cholesterol test).

In the spirit of full disclosure I have a few extra things I do/don’t do:

  • Never work out within 30 minutes of waking up.
  • Never lift right after eating.
  • Sleep plenty.
  • Short warm up.

Things I’m Not Doing

People have a million and one (stupid) tips on how to lose or gain weight.  I’m not doing anything but what’s above.  Here’s a short list of things I’m not doing that you may have heard of:

  • Counting calories
  • Going out of my way to walk or jog or walk up stairs or anything like that
  • “Timing” my protein
  • Working out at a specific time (ie, workout before you eat breakfast or other such bs)
  • “Confusing my muscles” by switching exercises
  • Supplementing in any way (although I do take vitamin D3, vitamin B and fishoil for other reasons)
  • Substituting “healthy food” for other food.  For example, quinoa, low fat anything, etc.  I cook with real butter, bacon, etc.

Hypothesis

I have done this before, so I pretty much know what’s going to happen.  It should take a month or two to get up to 180 lbs.  From there it’ll take another month or two to drop back down to 175 lbs.  At 175 lbs  I will look noticeably more muscular than I do now, but still have a small belly.  Hypothesis for my cholesterol levels after reaching 180 lbs by drinking a gallon of milk a day: should be similar to my last test: total 185, triglyceride 84, hdl 68, ldl 100, (all mg/dL), December 2010.

Call for Comments

I really want to hear from you on what you think will happen.  I know this sounds crazy, so I’m hoping people post what they think will happen or not happen.





Self Experimentation: Productivity

22 02 2012

Lately I’ve been super lazy.  Waiting for something to happen.  Unfortunately, this is not a good way to get things done.  The other day Lifehacker had an interesting post on Jerry Seinfeld’s productivity method called “Don’t Break The Chain”.  The basic idea is to have a calendar with a clear goal and a minimum that must be done daily to reach that goal.  Every day that you complete the minimum step towards the goal, you put a big x across that date on the calendar.  The goal is to not break the chain of X’s on your calendar.

My calendars

The article suggests having 3 goals to start, but since I’m unemployed and have some easy goals, I have 5 for now.  I have listed them below with their minimum daily steps:

  1. Study programming and Java: read for 30 minutes
  2. Apply to jobs: apply to 1 job
  3. Blog: write or revise 1 article, work on the layout, or create 1 photo for later use
  4. Stretch: do 3 stretches from Pavel’s relax into stretch
  5. Clear my desk: clear my desk once a day

The article recommends taking sick days and vacation days so I’ll have an allowance for those, roughly 21 days per year is what I’m thinking for now.  For the programming goal I will only work on it during the week, while the other goals will be 7 days a week.

Updates to come monthly.





Self Experimentation: Smiling More

20 02 2012

Whoops, was supposed to post yesterday but got lazy.  But Sunday is here and it’s better late than never.

For the past month or so I’ve been trying to improve myself in a simple way: smiling more.  Last year I tried half-heartedly and didn’t get any results, but this past month I went at it full steam with a simple method:  ABS, always be smiling.  Anytime I catch myself not smiling, whether eating with a friend or sitting at my computer, I force myself to smile.

My current uneven smile

A note about my uneven smile: I have a funny fold in my skin on the left side, but ladies remember, symmetrical men tend to cheat more.

It was tough at first since I’m not really a smiler.  Most of the time I have what I intend to be a neutral look, but I’ve been told it can be somewhat offputting.  But despite being tough at first, over the past few weeks it’s become easier and easier to smile and I find myself having to force a smile less and less.  In the past, I would feel awkward smiling for no reason, but now it’s a bit more natural.  I hope to eventually be a master at it and come off as a warm person, but one step at a time.  For now I’m happy to say that when someone glances at me I can quickly throw them a smile, or at least a smirk, and not come off as some creepy guy staring at them (I hope).

My next blog post is going to just be a video of my workout.  Look forward to it!