Author Archive

FitCast Accountability Blog (3/9/10)

Posted by Kevin Larrabee On March - 10 - 2010

I am just going to let the blogs speak for themselves today. I am still recovering from being sick and have a lot of work to catch up on. Now to the blogs:

Ken:

I should have counted the number of times this accountability program has prevented me from either making a bad food choice or skipping a workout.  I have always been a Master of Justification when it came to snacking and over eating.  I would simply find a reason why it was “justified” and then dive in.  But posting pictures and blogging has made that justification change gears.  Now when I’m tempted to undo a good gym session with a questionable dinner choice my inner talk says things like “Think of how good you’ll feel if you follow this workout with a balanced meal?”  And guess what?   That is happening more and more and my confidence in battling the devil on my shoulder has grown to a point that its not much of a battle anymore.  I also no longer beat myself up when I eat one of my favorite “bad foods”.  My kids made cupcakes and I had a craving for one.  So I had one.  I logged it in my diary and at the end of the day I’ll see how the numbers look.  But I wont let negativity take over and allow me to eat five more.  Have one, enjoy it, and move on.  Little victories.
Despite being out of town again this past week I had a pretty good week.  The warm weather allowed me to get outside for some running three times and I got to the gym three times.  I visited four different gyms over the past two weeks and made one observation- people need to get off that cardio equipment and pick up a dumbbell.  The listeners of the fitcast know this but someone needs to make a public service announcement.  One gym I walked into was packed and I was a little worried I wouldn’t be able to get my work done until I found my way to the free weight area which was a ghost town.  I counted 40 pieces of cardio equipment and 35 of them were being used.  In the free weight area-  just me and another guy.
I lost one pound (203) this week and about a 1/4 inch off my stomach measurement.  I’m happy with a pound per week.  Despite losing nine pounds I haven’t seen any of my max lifts diminish since the start.  I’m very happy with that.  One thing that I’ve echoed from the start is to trust the program and when I look at a comparison of the pictures, and step on the scale, it strengthens that trust.
Aaron:
Hello once again ladies and gentlemen… not a whole lot to report this week. I’m up to 173lbs consistently each morning making for a 7lb total gain so far in 1 month.  On the surface that does not seem all that great given the effort I feel like I’ve put forth in the gym and in the kitchen over the last 30 days; in the past this rather underwhelming result would have really bothered me. This time is different. This time I feel like I am laying the right ground work, something sustainable.

Quick trip down memory lane:  A few summers ago I finished college and wrapped up an internship that actually paid me. I decided to take 6 months and do whatever I wanted; I was about to start working for the rest of my life so while i had the chance I took some “me-time” and went on a nice vacation with the money that I had saved. Shortly after the vaca I was bored out of my mind… so I threw myself into the gym full-time, going twice a day and eating everything in sight – alot of the wrong things like fast food, weight gainer shakes, and as much leftovers as my parents and grandparents dropped off. Long story short I got stronger than I ever had been, weighed 200lbs and had atleast 2 chins. I felt like a bloat tub of goo, I was tired all the time and I had literally eaten away my savings. Luckily my metabolism was so jacked up from al lthe activity and having to fight off all the calories I was consuming that it did take me long to get back to 175lbs once I stopped inhaling garbage.

I coudnt sustain what it took to gain muslce that way.  As I thought about those “measly” 7lbs i’ve gained I realized it isn’t so much about the weight gain, it’s about building the foundation (or other cheesy metaphor of your choice) of sustainable improvement; things like pre-preparing foods, planning out your excercise routine and following through.

Wow, now that i read that back it’s a little sappy. Please bear with me, it’s late on sunday evening and i’m running on fumes. This week will be a struggle, I have to travel for work on Wednesday and won’t be home until sunday late. I will do my best to hit the fitness center at the hotel and atlest get some high rep sessions in. Only upside is I’m eating for bulk on the company credit card for 5 days, BONUS!!

Michelle:
Hello all – another week done, and what a crap week it was. I knew going into this week it was going to be tough to get my five days in at the gym, and it didn’t happen. Three days this week I don’t even remember shutting the alarm off in the morning, nor resetting it. Wednesday night I came home from work at went directly to bed and laid there for four hours until I got up to eat dinner, which consisted of a beer. Work just kicks my ass the first week of the month and I suppose I have to cut myself some slack but it’s easier to beat up on myself I guess. I was away this weekend too. Actually, I just got home from new york. I have found myself (for lack of a better term) in a long distance relationship, where I only see my boyfriend about every three or so weeks. I usually meet him in upstate NY. I say this not because I think you all want to hear about my relationship status but because I have a hard time being on the road – or in a hotel – and not eating like shit and drinking like a fish. Shockingly, I didn’t drink my face off this weekend. I actually barely drank. I’m not going to lie and say I didn’t drink at all but compared to some weekends when I meet him, this was a vast improvement. The eating is a different story. While I don’t think I made horrible choices this weekend in regards to food, I can say that it wasn’t great. Does anyone have any suggestions when traveling/staying in a hotel on better food choices that can be made? Keep in mind I don’t stay at a place with a kitchen. I did get out and enjoyed the weather today and walked for two hours through NYC today, I love the idea of New York, just not sure it’s ever a place I can see myself living. I’d eat pizza every day! So this week I’m back on getting myself to the gym five days and back on the diet. Oh, and not sure if everyone read kevin’s blog about the good eat sweet and spicy tea; but it’s phenomenal. Brian is the one that actually told me about it and said he drinks it either before training or on his way to CP (I can’t remember) and he feels great. So I’ve been making it before I leave for work in the morning and before I go to training and I love it! It has a weird sweetness to it that took me a few tries to get used to but it’s the spiciness that I love. And it smells just like big red. Brings me back to high school for some reason… well it’s been a long day and I’m gonna crash at any minute. Keep up the good work everyone.
Lucas:
I love to read Chris Shugart’s work, because it’s like he is writing directly to me, and it’s often quite funny and inspiring.  He’s also a Former Fat Boy (FFB) like I’m trying to become, so he has experienced a lot of the same things I am going through.  He wrote in a recent blog post (http://tnation.tmuscle.com/free_online_forum/diet_blog_hammer_velocity_shugart/the_end_is_the_beginning), “It’s easy to get stuck when you’re halfway up a mountain.  And it’s even easier to slip back down.”  I don’t want to get stuck halfway up the mountain any more.  I’ve gotten halfway up the mountain several times before, only to get stuck and then slip back down into the Valley of Fat-N-Lazy.
I’m getting closer and closer to that elusive 200 pound mark.  I’ve been there before several times over the last five or six years, but this time I will NOT become satisfied and stagnant.  My new goal is to hit 190 pounds by my 10th anniversary (July 8th).  I’m tired of being satisfied with “average” results.  I’m better than that, and it’s time to prove it.
So here is the rundown of last week:
Training:
Monday March 1st – 5/3/1 Lift with Front Squats & 1-Arm DB Rows plus a timed circuit
Tuesday March 2nd – Rest
Wednesday March 3rd – Infamous TRX Workout A Phase 4 (Holy Crap that hurt) then racquetball later that night
Thursday March 4th – 5/3/1 Lift with Deadlifts & High Incline DB Press plus a timed circuit
Friday March 5th – Infamous TRX Workout B Phase 4 (I almost died)
Saturday March 6th – Coach Dos’ KB Complex (so fun)
Sunday March 7th – Gateway Grunt Orienteering Race (5 hours of hiking/running over rugged terrain with a map & compass)
My training last week was great!  It was my heaviest week of lifting, and Phase 4 of the Infamous TRX Workout was insanely difficult. You know it’s going to be a tough training session when you are nervous and anxious before you start.  I almost ran out of time to train on Saturday, but Coach Dos’ KB complex came to the rescue again – it’s short, intense, effective, and a lot of fun.
Nutrition:
With this being my highest intensity week, I scheduled a “cheat” meal for Friday night.  I devoured a bacon cheeseburger and some sweet potato fries along with a beer sampler at a local microbrewery (I rarely drink alcohol, but I like to try different micro-brews).  I also ate way too much after the orienteering race on Sunday night.  I ate mostly good foods (7 oz sirloin and asparagus), but I also ate a little bit of fried food and 4 dinner rolls with honey butter.  After racing hard all day, I guess I just couldn’t resist a huge basket full of freshly baked rolls right in front of my face.  The rest of the week went according to plan, though, and I’m still within my 90% compliance rule.
I weighed 212 this morning (Monday 3/8) which is a loss of “only” half a pound from last week.  I actually hit 210 earlier in the week, so hopefully I can get below 210 pounds by next week.
I hope everyone else had a great week, and I hope we can all reach the summit together.  Until next week…
Batty:
This past week was just all kinds of messed up for me. I had the MRI for my knee, the corresponding followup and started my PT, which I’ll be doing for 6 weeks. Long story short, my knee will be able to be completely rehabbed without fear of any long term effects. To say I am peeing my pants with happiness about this would be an understatement, and hot damn am I headed to the bike shop to get fitted for my new bike that’s just been sitting there for the past 3 weeks.

My trainers basically told me I can go back to doing whatever I’ve been doing. The soreness is going to be there for a while. However, if it makes me wince in pain, then stop. Well, duh. so, I am resuming my NROL4W lifting. and this makes me happy. However, with my newfound freedom, I kinda winged it in the gym, which I don’t like to do, and I don’t think I did enough.
And hey! I get to go back to my bowling league!

I hate the treadmill. Hate it hate it hate it and the only reason why I’ve been using it is because of my injury. I am glad I can kick that to the curb and focus on my love, tabata intervals. I now have 3 full body sets that when all is said and done takes 45 minutes to do and leave me in a big heap of mess on the floor. I actually got my SO and his son [who is 15] turned onto them as well, and now we do them together on non lifting days. Family bonding, we has it.

Now, the food part. I know the only way some people can stick to their

nutrition goals is to tread food just as a fuel source. I cannot do this. I love food, I love eating, cooking, and celebrating food in a healthy way. I am constantly looking for healthy recipes online so we can avoid the ‘grilled chicken and steamed vegetables’ syndrome that so many people seem to fall into when watching their nutrition, myself included.

Carrie: I made a protein peanut butter egg for you – only 3g of sugar, healthy fats, ground flax seed, and 15g of protein, but every picture I took of it made it look like a wad of poop.  it was pretty tasty, though.
So I was evaluating my nutrition goals this past week when I noticed something that caused a rather deep imprint of my palm on my forehead. The previous week’s calorie cut was a really, really metabolism-fuckingly stupid idea. I had 3 signs staring right at me all over my face – the diet calculator for NROL4W, The calculations from Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle by Tom Venuto, and my own RMR test that I had done at the Cleveland Clinic. All of these things were clearly telling me that I *can* eat, and I *need* to eat, and yet I didn’t pay attention to them. Instead, that 100 calorie cutback  sent me dangerously into depriving my body of what it needs in order to just function, exercising aside. So, I went back to my original calorie limit that I had when I started the Getting Serious plan, and even tacked on a little extra, and now I’m pretty sound with all 3 of these tools. I do not want to F up my metabolism.
One would think that I would be happy that I can eat more, but with the sudden calorie increase combined with “Aunt Flo” barreling down on me with guns blazing, this week’s weigh in yielded a 2 pound gain.  I am not defeated by this as it is more than likely water retention. Ok, maybe a little defeated. But I am trying to not let it get to me too much. I did not bother taking my BF% this week because of this.

i can see the bloat in this picture and i’m not liking it. i am also running out of hats.

There were a lot of changes for me this week and it just threw me off mentally, and I felt like I didn’t have things in control. On the flip side, a lot of things were sorted out, so I am hoping I can regain control this week now that I know a lot of stuff.
I saw grass today for the first time in months. The sun is out more, and it got up to a whopping 46 degrees today. Spring is coming and I cannot wait to get my butt back in the saddle and outside. That is my ultimate gym.
Carrie:

Let me start this off by saying I was in no mood to take my pictures this week. I actually stated it out loud to a couple of people. Someone’s response was “Isn’t this the time you really need this thing most?” Yeah, good point. But here’s a question: why can I see muscles while I’m working them, but not just when I stand there in these ridiculous pictures each week? Frustration sets in.

This last week felt pretty hectic. I was tired from a lot of running around I had to do, and because I would be out of town for a couple days, I crammed all four of my weight sessions in – four days straight. Stupid? Maybe. But I wanted to make sure I got them in, and knew if I didn’t the week or weekend would go by and I would regret it. I even bumped my normal Saturday CP session to Thursday. And though I don’t feel my new program is any sort of killer, I was still a little sore, it being my first week and all. My upper body was incredibly tired around mid-week. I did bump my numbers up across the board on my CP day though, which made me happy. I think I need to do more cardio. I’m definitely not getting any of that in these past couple weeks.

My eating wasn’t as on point as last week, but it still wasn’t BAD. I probably had more wine than I have in a while and than I should’ve. Not sure why, but I got word that my PB2 order is apparently out of stock and won’t ship until at least the end of March. THE END OF MARCH?! Have you not read how much I love peanut butter? Killing me.

As always, here’s hoping it’s a better week for everyone!

Tim:

Last week was a challenge.  There was a lot going on at work.  I was stressed out.  I managed to get two of four planned workouts in (both very productive none the less).  Then Sunday night it was on the road to Atlanta….for….work….  I forgot my workout log at home, so I can’t report on what I did, but I can say I’m on upper/lower splits.

There’s no gym that I have free access to here in Atlanta, so I thought I’d try something completely crazy: running.  I haven’t run in 3-4 years, and I remember the last time I started running, my legs seized up like an engine with a quart of water in it.  I was really interested to see how well I’d do this time around.  The break-in program I followed from new rules of lifting felt like a cardio program with weights.  Lots of heavy breathing and sweating throughout the workouts.  So this morning I put on the running gear and heat out into the 40F morning on a 2 mile track outside my hotel.  To my astonishment, I made it at least half way through before having to stop for a break, and even then it was more my uncomfortable shoes than anything else.  I ended up making it through two miles, and even got so into it I actually ran right past my hotel and got half way down the block before I realized the run was over.  My legs are tired now, but I’m happy I can run nearly 2 miles after not having run for years, and do it without seizing up like I used to.  I feel like quitting smoking has really paid off.

Photos this week are lame…  I don’t have my posh bedroom to snap them in! ;)  Here’s me from my Atlanta hotel room:

Man is it hard to take a side shot with an iPhone in a cramped space.  Anyway next week’s pics should be much better.  I brought my blast straps with me, so I’ll be playing with ways to use those as an alternative to the weights.  I don’t really know how to use them, so I have a feeling I’m going to have to be really creative to get any value out of them.  In either case, this week is not going to be a great lifting week.  Can’t wait to get home and work with iron instead of running shoes and nylon bands.

Robert:
I finally started using fitday…then my two year old son spent a night throwing up on me, I had a midterm, I had to edit a movie/slideshow for my nursing research class, and we had our grand opening this weekend at the gym.  So my week was shot and I was left with three quarters of a day recorded on fitday.  I’ve never counted calories so I’m looking forward to being more accountable in that way; it’s just such a pain to enter in all my homemade foods.  I’m a bit of a creature of habit, so I’m hoping once I get it all entered in, it’ll be a lot less time consuming.  At this point, I’m pretty sure I’m gaining body fat. I’m still struggling to get more than 4-5 hours of sleep at night (as I write this at 11:25 pm and have to train at 5:00 am) and the combination of school, work, family and ROTC may give me a heart attack.  I’m sure my cortisol levels are off the chart and my body is begging for every bit of comfort food I come across.  I really picked a horrible, horrible time to do this accountability blog, but I guess in that way, I picked the best time.  I’m really fighting to get things more organized and manage my time, but I’m lacking the will power and energy.  I only have a few weeks left in this quarter.  During spring break I’m going to do an overnight hiking trip to regroup and try to start the next quarter strong, with a plan.  Finals are coming up so I’m gonna need a lot of prayers and positive thoughts out there.  At this point I’m giving the four areas in my life 30 %.  I’m no math major, but I’m pretty sure those numbers don’t work out.
David:

Hey Everyone,

Ok, so today I am sitting here writing this feeling like I am totally out of gas. My body feels like it is just plain broken, which isn’t good because I can tell the reason. Until the last year or so when I started paying more attention to fitness, nutrition, etc., I never really noticed how clearly my body would tell me if I was not treating it right.

This week I only got into the gym twice, and to make up for the missed sessions I did 2 days worth of workouts in each session. Mistake # 1. I ate pretty well, not as much in a deficit as I would have liked, but healthier than before I started blogging. I did cave in to temptation a couple of times though, once when my fiancé made one of her famous casseroles, and the other when a piece of cheesecake was calling my name when out to eat with my folks. Mistake # 2. It was remarkable to me how my body felt so completely miserable after consuming the fats in the casserole and the sugar and other nasty-goodness in that cheesecake. It was plain as day. I started my nutrition for this week out right today, and will be staying on the course better this week after my experiences last week.

As far as motivation was concerned, my slacking in the gym wasn’t really anything to do with not wanting to work out, I was just so completely focused on getting several things done at work that I burned up the time I would have spent in the gym on getting other things done at work. I am thinking about switching back to morning workouts just to make sure I get them done, which I haven’t done since the first part of January. It’s hard to work out at beginning of shift for me because I feel like I am so much more focused and sharp mentally in the morning, and I feel like I lose some of that sharpness after my workout.

I am including a “flex” picture this week with my others for one reason. Part of why I have been doing all this was to increase my strength and to help “the guns” as they were called on the “What’s Up Kev” I listened to yesterday. Even though I haven’t been doing anything specifically to target my biceps, I have noticed definite growth (or definition at the very least) since January, and I want to track that as well in the photos. To me my arms as a whole have really improved, and I would like to see how much when this is over.

Keep up the hard work everyone.

Thanks for reading.

DW

Courtney:

I really should start writing these before I am desperate to go to bedon Monday nights. I survived this week with no weight gain and I call that a success. So as some background I currently work full time and am taking a full graduate course load. The last few weeks of the quarter are HELL for me. Usually I gain 5+ lbs, this time? I’ve lost a bit. Not a lot, not like I was before, but it’s still going down despite my stress levels being somewhere up around “shoot me”. I have a hard goal this month of losing 10lbs now that I’ll be done with my major school stuff on Wednesday. I’m meeting the boy’s mother the first weekend of April and am determined to meet this goal before then. I’m drawing up a food plan and have a really good workout from my trainer to keep me interested at the gym (that and a couple of really excellent audiobooks on my iPod).

Part of my strategy for this past week was to make a BIG pot of veggie soup on Monday and then have it for dinners most nights. This saved me
from my usual tactic of pizza. I managed to drag myself to the gym three times and had an AMAZING workout with my trainer. Unfortunately I’m starting to have some trouble with my rotator cuff in the shoulder where I had my AC joint surgery so I need to head back to my physical therapist and see what we can do about that before permanent damage happens. Good advice on the show this week to the swimmer, guys. I wish that someone had given me that kind of advice when I was his age and saved me the trouble of my shoulders being wrecked.

Oh, for grins I included a picture of wrecked Courtney. Once I’ve met my goal I’ll send an update with happy, rested, successful Courtney. She looks much happier.

Larry:

For me, this last week counted as my week four of my twelve week program. I must admit that when I signed up for this Accountability challenge, I thought I had my workout and nutrition, pretty well dialed in, guess what . . . NOT! Although I managed to lose over 50+ pounds over a six month period of time last year, after a couple month RE-FEED, putting back on some fat and some muscle, it has really taken me more than the last three weeks to finally feel comfortable with my weight & cardio routine, and my updated “meal plan”. This last week I was 100% compliant with my training, without injury or major strain, and my food finally felt right and my energy level has returned!

Nutrition:

The routine I have fallen into is three low calorie days followed by a higher calorie day, looks like 1700-1800 daily then a 2000 calorie day. The higher day is usually met by just having an additional carb serving with my dinner, a cup of rice, potato, or pasta. I have also incorporated a 24 hour fast day following my higher calorie day, and even with a weight workout during, does not seem to be a problem. Although losing weight and building muscle seems like a daunting task, this week I am finally beginning to see some results. I am actually feeling lighter and have begun to see some definition progress in shoulders and arms. My gut and love handles will likely be the last to improve, the photos don’t lie.

Fitness:

Nothing magical on my workout, still following the Tom Venuto TNB Workout, with dips and some of the shoulder work removed. Instead of chin-ups, I use resistance bands and my weights are not anything close to my high weight lifts of my youth. I tend to use higher rep sets with weights that still allow me to recover in a day or so. Perhaps the thing that messes me up more than anything is LUNGES, as my balance is very slowly improving and the strain on my thighs still leaves me with DOMS on a regular basis as I try to get my body lower on each workout. For cardio, I am lucky to have a treadmill in my home so I have been increasing the speed by 1/10 mph per week and hope to add back in HIIT within a couple of weeks. Hoping the nicer weather lets me jog outside soon.

Everybody hang in there!

Craig:

This week wasn’t that great. I lost 1lb and the only way that can happen is if of course I didn’t do everything I was supposed to. I sliced the bottom of my foot and ended up having to miss a training session and I indulged on some Chinese food as well. I did feel good during the rest of my training sessions and almost watched a guy kill himself. A guy came in and decided to start off squatting 275lb and I saw him pull a 1/16 rep with shaking kneeing and rack it. Then I saw him put MORE weight on the bar and I couldn’t help but wonder “wtf is going on!” Of course one of the trainers also saw what I did and went over and talked to him. Crisis averted. This post won’t be that long, but I do feel that I could do much better in the gym. I want to come out dying, not in a bad way, but knowing I put in everything I’ve got. I’m not fortunate enough to have an awesome training environment so it’s all on me to push myself.

By the way check out this pic of Eric Cressey deadlifting from this recent MH blog. http://rodale.typepad.com/.a/6a00e54f86af56883301310f4ef69d970c-pi If that doesn’t get you hyped up I dunno what does.



Accountability

Client Spotlight: Kim (Now THIS is Fat Loss!)

Posted by Kevin Larrabee On March - 9 - 2010

Hi Everyone,

So I survived another week.  For a while this week my scale seemed to be stuck at 151.  It was really starting to bother me.  I had been doing everything right.  But I am very happy to say that this morning I broke the 150 barrier.  I weighed in at 149.8!  That was one of those big benchmarks for me psychologically.  I think the beautiful weather we’ve had here this past weekend helped me to just get that little bit further.  I can’t believe how far I’ve come in just two weeks.

I am feeling great, and I’m really looking forward to training with Kevin this week.  Recently he had me doing the ropes at the end of our work out.  I have to say; they are so much more tiring than you would ever think.  My first set was actually fun, and I thought to myself that Kevin was just going easy on me.  But by the third and fourth sets I could barely get the ropes off the ground.  I was beat! (but still liking the exercise)  If you have access to big, heavy ropes like these; you should definitely try this one.

Batty, I wanted to thank you for including a “before” photo on your most recent post.  I am just getting to know you all, and it is an inspiration for me to see just how far you have come.

Here’s to another good week,

Kim

[editors note: Kim continues to do great on the training and nutrition program. She is well ahead of the time frame for her fat loss goals. I will be posting some progression pictures next week. If you are interested in Online Personal Training, I have opened up two spots. Check KevinLarrabee.com for more details.]

Accountability, Blog Posts

What Up Kev?: Episode 2 (Fat Loss methods, Biceps, Metabolic Training Nutrition)

Posted by Kevin Larrabee On March - 4 - 2010

Here is Episode 2 of the What Up Kev? mid-week podcast. You can download it directly here:

WhatUpKev002.mp3 (Right Click and Save-As to download)

or grab it through the iTunes feed for The FitCast.

  • Do you know anything about the Insanity workout? I’m thinking of getting it but I want to know if it’s worth it. -Danielle
  • Program design for overweight clients. How you do modify dynamic warms ups, strength training, metabolic conditioning, etc, for the obese population? -Kris
  • Hey Kev,

    I was wondering what you recommend for post work nutrition after a “metabolic” workout? I always have something to eat about an hour before any workout. And after my strength workouts i have a shake of protein and some fruit or i have chocolate milk. But i didn’t know if i should just have protein after a metabolic workout, or if i should still have some simple carbs in there. or does it just depend on how long and intense the workout? What if i do a very intense 10 min workout? Thanks!

    Kerry

  • What up Kev? I have a question for you about bicep work. I know that I shouldn’t worry about my arms before getting strong first (I bench 185 lbs for my 1 rep max) but let’s be real, the summer is coming soon and when the suns out the guns are out. What can I do to accelerate my bicep growth, let me know and I can send a picture to show you were I am at. Thanks for answering my question, love the fitcast and your new blog! -Samuel.
  • Hey Kevin. Hopefully I find you doing good. I LOVE the podcast. I have a question to ask. I’m sure you probably get asked this all the time, but is building muscle and weight loss attainable at the same time or is it just a myth? A friend of mine said it isn’t possible. Now, I’m at a calorie deficiency, only taking in 1400-1500 a day. But, I’m also lifting weights. Will I get anywhere in the muscle gaining department or am I wasting my time? Thanks Kevin. Love the show! Keep it up!

    P.S. Hope this wasn’t TOO repetitious for you. =) -Stepheon

  • Kevin,

    Help me out here… simple question… not sure the answer is as simple…

    I’m pretty sure my body fat is in range where my abs should be showing. right now if you look at the right angle, and squint, and cross your eyes slightly you can make out my 4 pack.

    Im assuming I just dont have the muscle to show anymore. right now I do daily planks (90 seconds) and side planks (6 seconds each side) 7 days a week.

    I really want to get these abs poppin for summer time. Is there a more effective way to target these suckers?

    My diet is dialed in 2600 cals per day all clean foods, 250g protein, carbs under 200g.

    hot the gym 4 days a week for weight training, cardio the other 3. Other than the morning planks I do no direct ab work.

    Thanks in advance for the help! -Derek

  • Any thoughts on some of the fasting programs presently being offered (ie.EatStopEat?) for rapid weight loss? -Larry
Episodes

FitCast Accountability Blog (3/3/10)

Posted by Kevin Larrabee On March - 3 - 2010

It is so weird, but I love getting these Accountability Blogs on Sunday night and Monday morning. Each and every week I am seeing some tremendous progress from everyone. No, not everyone is dropping 5 pounds or a belt notch each week, but there is at lease some growth in their ability to reach their goals.  For some it is just winning the battle against pizza at work. For others it was just the fact that they made it to the gym three days that week. For some it might not sound like a huge accomplishment, but to me it is the roots of something bigger going on in their growth as a person, even if it just in regards to personal health.

Now, I won’t babble for much longer, I just want to remind everyone that Leigh’s Body by Eats is growing every few weeks and she just released a new cookbook, “Around the World in 30 Recipes.” You get it as part of Body by Eats, as well as all other cookbooks she has released with it previously and in the future. Check it at BodyByEats.com

Now for the blogs:

Craig:

This week was even better than last week. I got a new program from Tony and hit it hard. My energy is much higher than it was the previous week. I spent 8 hours at school and Saturday without wanting to kill myself and still got my lifting in later on in the day.

Today I am down another 5 pounds and lost 3/4 inch off my waist. I still have a long way to go though, but you can feel when the momentum has started to build. The first week you start to count the days you are doing well. “OK one day down!” but after a few weeks you don’t even bother and its part of the routine and it’s exactly what I have been trying to get back to. This week I baked up some catfish and made some meatloaf. At Sam’s Club they only have farmed fish which I know Brain St.Pierre frowns upon, and thus it will be the last time I buy any seafood there!

To end this blog post, Tony and I have come up with a goal for me to lose 30 pounds in 3 months starting tomorrow (March 1st) and I am ready to crush it! To help I will also try using the website http://loseitorloseit.com/. It is a website that helps you stay motivated and accountable. You pay them some amount of money and over the course of 10 weeks you can earn your money back. How you earn it back though it by losing the weight and hitting your goals. You can choose friends who receive emails about your progress and you get SMS and email reminds to post. If you don’t lose the weight your money is gone. Money is a very strong factor and after I finish my taxes today I fully plan on putting up some cash and betting on myself. -Craig

Ken:

I felt pretty good about my eating during my first week out of town.  I stuck basically to this simple plan.

Breakfast:

2 hard boiled eggs
apple or banana

Snack:

Fiber one bar

Lunch:

Grilled chicken salad (no dressing)

Preworkout:

Protein Shake
apple or banana

Postworkout:

Protein shake
banana

Dinner:

For dinner I usually ate at a restaurant.  One night I had calamari at Bravo and two glasses of Cabernet.  One night I had some buffalo chicken strips and two beers. One night I had sushi and then met a friend for two rum and diet Cokes. Are you starting to see a pattern?  Yes, I had a few drinks this week.  A few too many considering I’m trying to lose fat.  I didn’t over do the drinking on any particular night and that’s important because I tend to lose will power after drinking too many.

My workouts for the week were very good.  I used a free trial at a large chain gym three days and I did outdoor cardio twice.  One of my cardio sessions consisted of running stairs at an old college football stadium.  When I say old I mean none of the seats had any paint left on them.  It was a tough workout in a different and interesting place.

My weight stayed exactly the same as last Sunday. 204. The measurement around my stomach also stayed exactly the same 38″.  I do feel a little better and my belt and clothes feel a tad more loose.  I am heading back out of town this afternoon.  I plan to eat the same and workout the same.  I just need to steer clear of the social two or three drinks each night.  Maybe I’ll go see a movie instead.  It’s been a long time since I went to a movie during one of my trips away.  Do they serve beer at the theaters now a days?  Just wondering.

Larry:

This was a zero progress week for me as the weather, death of an old friend, and competing in the Smith & Wesson Winter Indoor National Championship in Springfield, MA, took me away from my routine and to a match hotel that was connected to a Pizzeria UNO.  I will get right back on the horse and know that this was a “one off” in terms of my fitness goals, but allowed me to travel around the worse of the weather and get to a IDPA Pistol Match that I have been shooting since 2005. If I have one primary reason to work on my fitness besides looking better and staying alive, it is to be a better competitor in the pistol shooting disciplines that I love, IDPA, USPSA, and steel. The very best shooters have extraordinary plyometic skills and tend to be very fit, move very quickly and smoothly, and are able to withstand the demands of a long shooting day (think of golf with guns over 8 hours). If you don’t like guns, that’s fine, one of the things we do is compete against local law enforcement, SWAT teams, Army, and TSA agents to help keep them “frosty”.

If you’re curious, check out:  http://www.uspsa.org/USPSA_Videos/index.html

If you’re still reading, you might notice in the photo submitted this week, my left bicep looks a little funky. About two years ago, while trying to move my treadmill from the motor end, once lifted, saw stars, felt a snap and my bicep was torn in half. Strangely, looks bad but my shoulder is a bigger hindrance to my lifting than the bicep. Neither this past week nor any injury is going to stop me in this Accountability challenge.

Carrie:

I can’t believe it’s been a month! I guess it’s a good thing it feels like it’s gone by quickly. I started a new program Saturday that so far doesn’t seem TOO bad, but you may hear otherwise come next week. However, I did manage to jam the ring finger of my right hand doing rollover medball stomps in my warm-ups. It swelled up pretty good, but I can bend it more today and am hoping my training sessions won’t suffer too much. Also, I’m not sure if I tweaked something or what, but my hip and lower back were causing me some pain and I’m back at the sports therapist/chiropractor. It’s something I should keep up regularly and had been meaning to get back to anyhow, so it can only be a good thing. Not sure if it will be at all visible in this week’s pictures, but the giant bruise on the back part of my thigh most likely is a result of that. Unless it’s from some other ridiculousness I did in the weight room. Geez! I’m a mess!

But let me tell you, I was HUNGRY this week. I also think this was the first week I really clicked in with my nutrition numbers. Sleepytime green tea has been a life saver for me at night. You know, when you really want that something after dinner or before bed? That damn bear in his nightie got me through, and I love him. I found myself watching the same episode of Best Thing I Ever Ate Michelle mentioned last week this past weekend – I swear, the two of us just love food too much, and now I know why she’d kill for that cookie – I’m not even a huge chocolate lover but this episode made me want chocolate in the worst way. I satisfied the craving with a cup of cocoa. I think in the grand scheme of things, that’s not all that bad. Seeing how Pete handed me two boxes of GS cookies – thin mints to be exact – when I walked through the door at CP Saturday (I know, weird. Believe me, this is not normal behavior there.) I tucked them away for a later date. Not even opening the package.

Oh, and has anyone seen this?

This is what my sister sends to my phone. Whoever created this was solely put on this earth to torture us. But, I would like this mound of deliciousness to be a “reward”, so E.B. if you’re out there and paying attention, I would like one (or six) of these in my basket this year. Yes, I still get one, and don’t act like you’re not jealous.

I haven’t made drastic changes in terms of my appearance (or on the scale even) but I don’t hate myself every morning when I put on an outfit. This, for me, is huge. And I have all of you to thank for that. Things are looser, for sure. I’m not back in this pair of pants I’ve been trying to squeeze into, but at least it no longer looks like the Unsinkable Molly Brown would’ve stayed afloat if she’d just grabbed on to what stuck out above my waistband. (I’ll never let go, Jack.) Furthermore, I had a surprisingly pleasurable shopping experience this weekend. Of course no pants were involved (newsflash: I have an ass and thighs!) but I bought a dress for that wedding this weekend that I feel great in. Three, actually! Issues? Sure. No, I have no intentions of pulling off some crazy Cher costume change. I will make a decision and go with one, but I’m happy to have options. Now let’s just hope I don’t throw myself head first into the dessert table.

Michelle:

Hi all – I wanted to do something a little different this week and write my blog everyday so I wouldn’t forget anything or be at a loss as to what to write come Sunday, but then the days got away from me and I didn’t do that… I’d like to start doing that this week but it’s my crazy week at work so I’m not sure if that will work this week either. So two things, I actually feel great. I think my pictures look a little better than in the past weeks but more importantly my clothes feel better, and that’s how I really judge things. I can’t really “see” a difference in myself but I have these pair of jeans that I base my weight on. And they’re fitting. I mean, they’re not fitting how I want them to but they’re better than they were a month ago. But the second thing is that my energy is really down. I didn’t leave my couch after training (really after training and after bridal shower #1) yesterday for a solid four hours. Tuesday afternoon when I was training at scla, I actually had to sit down between sets because I actually felt deeply exhausted. One thing to note is that tony has me doing these sets of exercises back to back and resting for 90 seconds then repeating them for four times. For example, I am doing goblet squats x10, push up eccentrics x8, chest supported row x10 straight through and then resting 90 seconds  for four times. I then have another set of different exercises next. Same concept but three times through with 60 seconds rest. They’re kicking my ass. and this week seemed to kick it even harder. Not sure why. Nutrition? Just tired in general? I don’t know. Anyways, hopefully this week will be better but it’s my week three of the program topped with my crazy week at work, by Thursday I’ll probably be ready to call it quits. I did get to the gym five days this week so that makes me feel good. I’m not sure if I mentioned this in my last blog but one thing that I am loving about this accountability blog is really having Carrie to push me to get to the gym. I think Luke mentioned last week that he was jealous that Carrie and I train at CP and train together and it’s really key to have someone that can immediately get back to you and push you on things. If I want pizza she tells me not to eat pizza. If I know that I want to go to the gym in the morning, she will text me at 5:30 am to make sure I’m up, and I think – or hope – I’m doing the same for her. Having someone backing you up, especially it’s an immediate response, I think is really key in what we’re doing. Keep up the good work everyone.

David:

Hey Everyone,

So its Saturday and I am just NOW getting around to reading everybody’s blogs, listening to the FitCast podcast, and listening to Leigh’s podcast. I have had my head kinda buried in the sand all week due to personal life stuff and some crazy days at work.

A note after my work day on Wed, why don’t the idiots out there understand the basics about driving a car….?

If you don’t have a drivers license….don’t drive a car.

If you don’t have insurance….don’t drive a car.

If you have been drinking….don’t drive a car.

If you don’t have a license, or insurance, and you have been drinking, and you are fighting with your girlfriend, and you smoke pot, and your truck has pieces falling off, and you can’t read signs telling you where to go….don’t drive a car!!!!!

DUH!

Anyway, all that aside, listening to the podcasts and reading the blogs today has me way fired up. I had a great week in the gym, but struggled a little at times with me diet. That being said, on to the things that have me fired up.

I really heard a lot of the issues I have been struggling with and the tactics I have been using to fight with them when I listening to the folks from this challenge on the FitCast call. One thing that struck me specifically was when someone (I think Larry) mentioned having to deal with not just actual hunger, but the “desire to eat”. One thing I have been making sure to do when the “need” to snack seems to come up, is to get up and walk around for a while. That just so minor distraction has helped me immensely in keeping to my eating plans. It seems to work better at work where I can do that as part of my job, but not as well when I am at home. I have committed this week to whenever that little desire to snack comes up at home, I am going to take the dog out for a walk for a few and hope the same strategy will help me from diving into the cabinets looking for goodies.

Since I seem to be going a little long I will only mention one other thing this week. For anyone out there struggling with the desire to “serve two masters” and trying to build muscle while still wanting to loose some fat, please please please listen to Leigh’s podcast from this week. She does a great job answering an email question from someone about that, and made me feel a lot better about this process and how I am going about it.

Thanks so much for all the support this has brought. Keep up the great work everybody.

DW

Batty:

The SO and I were down in the basement working out one evening and I saw him checking out his lower abs. He was all “what are these weird muscles?” and I looked and said “dude, those aren’t muscles.” Fortunately he had to go see his doc later that week, and it turns out he has suffered a DOUBLE HERNIA. I suspect it was from lifting, because, like me, he is the go-getter overachiever and likes to push himself almost beyond human limitations and next thing you know your organs aren’t where they’re supposed to be. It’s actually not bad, he’s not in a lot of pain, and will require minor surgery. But, I would like to nominate us for the “most active couple that can’t do shit because our bodies are all jacked up” award. Can we get right on that? Great.

So that evening was full of hernia jokes, because we’re like that. We were gathering up the garbage to take outside when he offered to grab the bag I was holding. He suddenly says “OH GOD” and doubles over, and from under the bottom of his shirt slid out the intestine-like package of pork loin planned for sunday’s crock pot dinner.
This is one of the many reasons why I love him.
Sunday I decided to go ahead and cut back 100 calories a day on the food intake, which is only 20 calories less a meal for me, which isn’t really bad at all, right? Right. Sunday night, I was really excited about it. I did well Monday and Tuesday, and I thought I had it made until Wednesday about a half an hour after lunch. All of a sudden I became ravenous and it took every fiber of my being to not attack the vending machine. I counted the minutes until my afternoon snack, and then dinner. Thursday morning I got up and just immediately consumed a homemade protein bar I had in the freezer, which pretty much threw off the usual food plans for the day, so I found myself scrambling. It was hell served with a side of hell topped off with hell flakes with hell for dessert. But, I did it. I made it through without cheating or going over my calorie goals. I drank an alarming amount of coffee during those couple of days, but goddammit, I did it.

A friend of mine told me “making body changes solves some issues and unlocks entirely new ones” and I gotta say I agree. Flaws that were once covered by fat are becoming more pronounced. Who knew I had stretch marks? I sure as hell didn’t until I lost weight. The fat stores, although shrinking, are looking kind of silly and awkward. And its sometimes hard to remain positive when you look in the mirror and see these things staring back at you.

So to keep myself in check and show you where I’ve been, I’m going to share a photo of myself taken 4 years ago. I sent this along to Kevin when I applied for the challenge:
you’ll have to scuse the mirror, my son was 7 months old at the time and liked to smear his little grubby paws all over it.

I’ve come a long way. I like to pull out this photo when I’m getting frustrated with my current progress so I don’t get too down on myself. And it gives me the strength to keep going.

This past week’s body changes were pretty significant. I broke 100 lbs on the bench press, and Friday managed to do 6(!) pullups. I do not know where that came from and have not been able to redo it since.
My Saturday morning pancakes were made of flax and almond meal and a heck of a lot tastier than using processed grain bread.

My stomach is getting flatter and that little pooch of fat on my lower abs is decreasing. I am noticing minor definition in my obliques now, too, that I didn’t expect. I also am beginning to see a hint of definition in my thighs which is also something not expected.

I am now down to 151 with 7 lbs of fat lost. This is what I usually considered my ’summer weight’ – that is, when I’m biking 200+ miles a week and not really paying attention to what I’m eating, and nowhere near this level of ab definition. A smaller goal I mentally made was to also hit 145 by my birthday. That’s 6 lbs in 7 weeks. I think that’s doable.

My MRI is this week and hopefully I can begin rehab soon because I am going bonkers.

you’ll also have to scuse these photos because they were taken at 4 am, so my usual sunny disposition isn’t shining through. Also, camera flash kills muscle detail.

Lucas:

I think I can sort of understand how a lot of ectomorphs have a fear putting on any fat when they are trying to gain muscle.  I’ve never been, nor will I ever be, an ectomorph, so I can’t fully understand how they feel. However, we endomorphs have some fears of our own.
Just the other day, I put on one of my favorite shirts (it was a Revenge of the Nerds shirt my wife and kids got me for Father’s day one year), and I noticed it didn’t fit quite right.  Then I thought that it might just be in my head.  When my wife saw me, though, she confirmed it.  The shirt was not as snug in the chest and shoulders.  Now, some of you may be thinking, “Wow, he’s making progress.”  And yes, it is now clear that I am making progress.  I didn’t feel that way at first, though.  All I could think about was how much muscle I must be losing and how I must be eating too little and not lifting enough.
This is the kind of stuff I worry about, and I think a lot of us who have been on a continuous “bulking” diet (a.k.a. – eating like crap and lifting a lot) for several years worry about.  I’ve worked hard to put on some muscle, and I really, really don’t want to lose it.  The more I think about it, though, the more I realize that I am starting to look better.  I think Chris Shugart from tmuscle.com wrote about this once.  He wrote something about how when you get lean, you actually look bigger than when you’re soft, chubby, and “bulky.”  So that is what I’m going to focus on.  My lifts are still going up, and my weight is coming down.  I know I’m getting healthier, and I know I’ll look better in the long run.
Training:
I made a goal in my last post to do some sort of training every day this week.  On Wednesday, I almost didn’t do any training because I was so busy, but I managed to get a training session in from Coach Dos’s new book that took less than 11 minutes (literally).  Even though it was short, it really kicked my ass – I was sweating and breathing very heavily afterwards.  I’m sure I had what Alwyn Cosgrove calls the “Afterburn” effect going on afterwards.  It was great, and workouts like these leave little room for the “I don’t have time” excuse.  So here is the breakdown of the last week:

Monday – 5/3/1 – Front Squat & 1-Arm DB Row followed by a timed circuit. - Later that evening a 4 mile jog.
Tuesday – Infamous TRX Workout A Phase 3 #2 (Ouch.)
Wednesday – Coach Dos’ Kettlebell Complex form Cardio Strength Training (I loved this complex)
Thursday – 5/3/1 – Deadlift & High Incline DB Press with a timed circuit at the end
Friday – Infamous TRX Workout B Phase 3 #2 (Double Ouch.)
Saturday – Played football for 2 hours with friends – lots of fun and great “interval-like” training
Sunday – Steady State “recovery ride” on the stationary bike for 20 minutes (my legs were sore from football)
Nutrition:
I also made a goal of eating according to plan all week with no cheat meals.  Mission accomplished.  The nutrition is getting easier every week.  I do find that sometimes right before bed I become ravenous.  I just have to remind myself that this is my body’s way of confirming that I am indeed in a caloric deficit.
My weight was at 212.5 as of this morning (Monday, March 1st).  That is a loss of 3.5 from last week (although I think I had a little bit of a “carb bloat” for my last weigh-in after a cheat day) and a total loss of 8.5 pounds since we started this accountability blog.  That’s roughly 2 pounds per week – pretty much exactly what I was shooting for.
So, that’s it for now.  Onward and upward, everybody!  And like always, buh-bye for now.
Aaron:
I chase the Man in the Mirror

Tim can probably back me up on this, but one of the best ways to torture yourself when trying to pack on some muscle is to parade around in front of the mirror after a good workout.  (Note: do NOT do this at the gym, or you risk being That Guy/Gal. ) I wonder if anyone has ever figured out lb. wise what the difference truly is, so if actual weight is 170lbs. – the pumped up version is what you would look like at 190lbs. At any rate, it’s maddening and the worst part is it will always be that way! Even if my hard work and good eating get me up to 190lbs., the pumped up version will look like 210lbs. I’m like a dog chasing my tail, haha.

Things this week went very well. I continue to put on either weight or reps to almost every lift, I’m curious to see how long this continues and what effect it will have on me when progress start to taper off. I put such a great deal of emphasis on winning the minor battles (get one more rep, or added a bit more weight each time) that it can be a real downer when I can’t do it.  That’s usually when I’d call it quits, switch to a whole new program and basically scrap everything. NOT THIS TIME!

Body weight is up to 172 lbs consistently each morning for the past 3 days, up about 6lbs since this party started. I think so far it’s safe to say that my intake is about right, given that I’m adding body weight without too much fluctuation due to just water. I’m almost hesitant to add the creatine, as I really do suck up water when I’m on it – but I also see pretty good results in terms of strength and recovery. I may hold off for awhile longer than I thought just to keep an ace up my sleeve, so to speak.

I also bought an old dorm room-style mini-fridge that I’m going to put in my office. I’ve gotten a few glares at work when I try to cram in a huge lunch bag into the community fridge, and rightfully so. Try explaining why you want to gain weight to a group of middle-aged women and you are liable to get slapped. Better to stash my food like a secret-squirrel than feel their wrath, I guess.

Below is a link to my rudimentary workout Excel file I mentioned last week that I’m still tinkering with. It shows some of the set & rep undulations and frequency. It is probably more convoluted than necessary, but so far has proven to be very challenging and fun.  If there are questions please let me know in the comments and if there are a lot I’ll address them with my next post!

http://rapidshare.com/files/357652515/Acct_Blg_Training.xls.html (limit of 10 total DL’s)

Please be aware that I am not a trained professional. Following this program is not recommended, and neither is covering yourself in honey and attempting to make sweet love to a bear. You’ve been warned.
Tim:
Pretty standard week.  Workouts felt good.  Nutrition wasn’t awful (but wasn’t perfect).
The Workouts:
2/25
1. Squat, 135×12, 135×10
2a. Static lunge, 85×12, 85×7
2b. DB single arm row, 40×15, 40×15
3a. Push up, 20, 15
3b. Swissball crunch, 20, 20
2/28
1. BB deadlift, 155×15, 155×11
2a. Step up, 60×15, 60×15
2b. DB single arm press, 30×15, 30×15
3a. Chinup, 5, 5, 5, 5
3b. Reverse crunch, 15, 15, 15, 15
This was my last week of these 2×15 rep sets and the last of working out two days per week.  For the next 4 weeks, I’m hitting the basement gym four times a week.
I know I promised a nutrition plan for myself by today, but I just haven’t been able to pull it off.  I’ve done some thought, and I think I need to do this in a phased approach.  The first step is just pure calorie intake.  I’m not one to eat absolute crap to begin with, but I also am probably not hitting the 3k-3.5k calories I need to make any substantial gains on muscle mass.  I need to start measuring what I am taking in.  Does anyone have any iPhone app recommendations?  My phone is the only thing that’s with me all the time, and it seems like that’d be the best way to track intake.  I’m going to keep working on a formal plan, but for now I want to figure out a decent way to track intake.  What good is setting intake goals if I can’t measure progress against them anyway?
Attached are the same pics I’ve been sending for the past 3 weeks!  Enjoy. :)
Robert:
The bad news is, I’m not losing any fat.  The good news is, I’m not gaining any fat and I’m gaining some muscle mass.  I joined this accountability blog to give me the motivation to get leaner than ever.  Instead I’m realizing that with as much mental and physical stress that I’m putting on my body right now, my body fat would be considerably higher had I not joined this blog.  At this point I’m working out once a week, running once a week and trying to keep my stress-related snacking in check.  I literally don’t have the time or energy to do any more.  My goal this week is to tighten my schedule and manage my time to try to allow more time for good rest and nutrition.  I’m pretty sure the energy and time to train will follow if I can buckle down.  It has been a huge morale booster to read everyone’s stories, comments and hearing the conversation on last weeks podcast.  Thanks to everyone following and everyone contributing.  Even when I’m having a hard week, I know things can get better with a little more discipline and everybody will be here to see my results.
Courtney:
Every week I take these pictures and every week they look exactly the same. It’s frustrating being so overweight because any loss I make is such a small drop in the bucket that I can’t see any different. This makes it hard to stay on program at times. I’m hungry, sore and tired and haven’t seen any visible results for my efforts yet. On top of this, its is the end of the quarter where I hardly have time to sleep, much less work out or cook. Oh well, I just have to make it through this and not give up since that’s what I’ve done every time before. I get three weeks into a diet and then my eating habits just fall apart. Going to grad school full time while holding down a 40 hour a week job is hard so adding this one extra thing on top of it really shouldn’t be that much worse.

I had my second workout with my personal trainer on Friday, and he is a monster. He did, however, send me home with a workout to do in
between our visits. It feels good to be working my shoulder again. Before my AC joint surgery one pushup would put me in horrible pain for the rest of the day. Now I’m slowly building up strength and the only pain is the burning of my muscles.

For this week my workout is:
Stair climber, arm bike and jogging for cardio: 30 min with intervals
of high intensity
Lateral Pull down: 2 sets of 15 at 40 lbs
Walking Lunges: 2 sets of 12 on each leg, body weight
Chest press: 2 sets of 15 at 15 lbs (I’m having to do this on the
machine to keep my arms stable since my shoulder still gives out a
bit)
Squat to press: 2 sets of 15 at 5 lbs (yea, yeah pink dumbbells, give
me time and I’ll be using some serious weights)
Planks: 2 sets of 30 seconds
Crunches: 3 sets of 15 EVERY DAY

Well, now it’s time for me to get to bed. 6 am is going to come nastily early but I am determined to get in a workout before I head into the office tomorrow so I can spend my evening writing like a mad woman without any regret.

Accountability

Client Spotlight: Kim (Standing up to Pizza)

Posted by Kevin Larrabee On March - 2 - 2010

Kim started training with me last year. She started training four days a week and saw some amazing result. From getting stronger doing pull ups, push ups, trap bar deadlifting, and most importantly when she looked in the mirror. Also there was the whole, “My pants don’t fit anymore!!! They are too big!!!” Then life got in the way. Kim couldn’t train any longer because of a busy teacher’s schedule, working on her house, and she is planning a wedding (for this June!). This brings me to the spotlight. She wants to look her best for the wedding (who wouldn’t!).

Kim has always kicked ass with the training. The nutrition has been the sticking point. She was inspired by the FitCast Accountability Bloggers and with what Leigh and I are doing with Destination Abs. So…She wanted to do it as well.

I sat down with her and told her this was going to be tough, even suck. Dieting sucks, I don’t care if you are doing a detox diet or the 1 lb a week diet. It still sucks. I modified the Destination Abs program for Kim to guarantee success if we can keep the train on the tracks. Kim will also be journaling her progress on this site each week with pictures and a blog.

Kim will be training three days a week with a strength training program I developed in conjunction with the calorie deficit. There will also be some metabolic training mixed in to accelerate things without too much extra volume.

Now the floor is Kim’s. Come on FitCast Community, please give her some support! I know she will really appreciate it!

If you missed it check out Kim’s first post: New Beginnings

___________________________________________________________________________________

February 28, 2010

Hi Everyone,

So it has been 1 week now.  The first 5 days it was really hard to get use to the new eating program.  I watched 200+ students and teachers eat pizza on Friday, and that was the toughest point all week.  That was the worst.  And it is something that I will have to learn to do over and over again because it will happen every week.  When Friday lunch rolls around, think of me.  Send me your good vibes – I’ll need them.

But the really good news is that I HAVE been able to stick the diet & exercise program.  Not one slip up, and I’ll tell you that I don’t really want to break the rules right now because I’m beginning to see results already.  I have dropped a few pounds, and gone down 1 belt notch!  YAY!

I’ve even found a few meals that I look forward to. Like turkey taco salad (but no cheese) and chicken stir-fry (no rice) and I actually have learned to like the strawberry protein mix.   This is good because I still have 110 days to go until the wedding.

Thank you everyone for your support – you are a great group to have behind me.  I will be watching your progress and I wish you all the will power this week J

[editors note: Kim did great this week in training. She busted her butt through some battling ropes and intense lifting. Please continue to send your comments, thoughts, and support! -Kevin]

Accountability, Blog Posts

Episode 169: Rod Stewart and The Secret

Posted by Kevin Larrabee On February - 28 - 2010

Get this Week’s Episode:

MP3 Download/iTunes/RSS/Odeo


Hosts:

Kevin Larrabee (Twitter), Dr. Jonathan Fass

and Leigh Peele

FitCast News

Mailbag

  • Hey Fitcast! First off love the show, I’m a long time listener, I listen to it while working as a USPS employee! I love my job, I get to listen to podcasts and music while driving around town lifting heavy stuff.First and foremost, thanks for using USPS!

    second I’d like to offer a bit of a correction to your recent rants about the postal service. by first pointing out that it is the UNITED STATES postal service. Once your items leave the country the UNITED STATES postal service no longer has any control over what Customs, or the other countries delivery services may do with it.

    Keep up the good work -Ruben

  • I have started a pretty intense weight training schedule along with upping my protein intake in order to become more toned overall. I am having trouble in certain spots, like for instance the “chicken wings” right under the biceps, I cannot seem to find an exercise to get rid of those. Also, my body fat is at about 20% right now, I’m 5′ 11″ 145 lbs, and I really want to drop that as well. I’m just wondering how i should go about doing that? Should I include more interval training? I am also eating in the range of 1200-1500 cals a day.
    Thanks for everything you guys do by the way! I listen to your show on my commute to school and I LOVE it!!! -Maggie
  • Hey guys, I just started swim practices on my high school team. I’m on JV and we will be swimming about 5000 yards a day. Swimming helps you loose weight (and that’s good) but i also want to bulk up. All the guys on the swim team have super skinny bodies, but thats not what I want, I want a muscular one. Unfortunatly this is not the sport to help me with that, but i was wondering if i could do free weight workouts to build muscle as well as swim practices or if that would be overdoing it?Thanks again, I don’t know what my life would be like without you.

    (Probaly 30 pounds heavier and not on the swim team!) -Nick

  • Hi Kevin,
    Listener since #1, miss Dr. Williams, don’t miss Jimmy Smith. Hoping Jonathan can help me with a problem that has recently developed. First of some bio, 31, 5′9″, 230lbs, 8% bodyfat. I used to be able to do chin ups and pull ups, 15-20 at a time. Now I cannot even start one without a searing pain where the lat attaches to the upper armpit. This pain lasts for a good minute after trying pushups. I tried using bands for a couple weeks, using the blue iron woody one, and I can do pull ups with little pain. But as soon as I try full bodyweight I am afraid I am going to tear something. Any ideas? I don’t have any shoulder injuries that I know of.
    P.S. What up Leigh? My fiance is still follow your body by eats and loves your recipes

    And if Tony is actually present tell him to stop wearing girls sized t-shirts :) -Everette

  • Gday Mates, (sorry I wouldnt usually write this, but your last podcast you requested that all Aussies who write in should write this).I am continually working on my fat loss goals (particularly the love handles) and am finding it difficult to work off those handles and belly fat. Overall I am getting there with watching what I eat and doing different workouts 4-5 times/week, such as sprint training with push up/plank/burpee intervals, outdoor gym circuits with pull ups, dips etc, body weight stuff, boxing and a recently bought TRX ( which my GF and I love to workout with together). However suming all this up, even with my advances to date, Im finding it hard to cut the handles/belly fat off.

    Do you guys have any suggestions on further conditioning and/or strength training that I could do to cut the fat off for good?

    Cheers,

    Darren

  • Hi Fit Cast Crew,
    I am recovering from an operation on my elbow (simple ulnar nerve decompression surgery), and would like to know if there are certain tricep exercises I should avoid. I am particularly concerned with exercises which might aggravate this injury (e.g., skulls, dips, etc.).
    My neurosurgeon said I would be able to resume my normal workouts after six weeks time, but gave no suggestions regarding exercises.

    Best Regards,
    Nick Spangler

  • G’day team,I have a question about fibromyalgia and how it affects exercise, as a fat-loss client of mine was recently diagnosed with the condition. The recomendations I was given for her routine were 10min stretches, 5-10min strength work, 30min aerobic work, 10min stretches.

    Where “strength work” is classified as 6-8 reps of low intensity submaximal work and “aerobic” is all steady-state.

    Being neural fatigue I understand why an individual should not do neurally taxing work like 6 rep maxes or sprints. (Will not assist in recovery or relaxation.) However, it is still ultimately, frustrating as she wants to keep on track with her goals, but feels she can’t.

    We have been doing some work with metabolic circuits made out of mobility exercises, but true to form, she’s buggered after three rounds of five movements. And the effect it has on her is the same as strength work.

    (Bit of background: She’d be maybe 5′10″ and 154lb. (Converting from metric here.) But 30% bodyfat.)

    Any assistance you can provide would be much appreciated.

    Kind regards,

    Kieran in Australia.

  • G’day Eh!Hey Guys,
    Its Brendan from Vancouver. An Aussie living in Canada, hence the mismatch of intro!
    Great podcast. I learn a lot every week from you guys and am really thinking of becoming a trainer now. I enjoy coaching baseball and soccer and am in one of those “what career would really satisfy me” stages!
    Anyways, my question is:
    How do you avoid having shit workouts? I work hard in the gym, but every now and then I walk out disappointed in myself for not working harder. I know that its inevitable that sometime this will happen but lately its happened a couple more times than I would like.
    What do you do to prepare so that this wont happen to you? Or if it does happen one day, how do you adjust so that it doesnt happen the next session?

    Really appreciate the service you provide to the fitness community and ‘Top of the morning to ya’ you old geezer!”

    Brendan

  • I’m a regular lister of the fitcast and love the work you guys are doing, so keep it up. I just had a question which I hope you don’t mind answering. I was browsing around your website and came across your ‘contact us’ form which I found both impressive and interesting because like you I’m expanding my training operations online and am going to be training people over the web. I was just wondering how you keep track of your online clients progress and whether you think it matters that you probably don’t go through an initial assessment. I was also wondering how long you hold on to your typical online clients and how you keep them interested and enrolled in their training programme. Do you find programming from a distance difficult?Hope it’s not too much to answer as I know you’re a busy guy!

    Cheers,

    Jason


Episodes, Featured

FitCast Accountability Blog (2/24/10)

Posted by Kevin Larrabee On February - 24 - 2010

It was a lot of fun talking to some of the bloggers this past Sunday. Larry, Ken, and Batty. The recording of the call is at the end of Episode 168, make sure to check it out if you haven’t already. As we end week 3 and head into week 4, things will start to get a little tough. After being at a constant caloric deficit for 3-4 weeks the body will start sending messages that it NEEDS food. This is where many dieters fall off the wagon and regress back to their former habits of eating pizza, or chocolate, or drinking ,ect…

Stay strong everyone!!! You are all making such great progress!!!

And if you missed it, one of my personal training clients is featured in a spotlight. Her first post was yesterday. She was inspired by all of you who have been brave enough to post shirtless pictures of yourselves on the internet for all to see. Please check out her post as well and leave questions (for her or I), comments, and support.

Some Notes:

  • Ken- Blog on travel nutrition coming this week!
  • Michelle- I see you met Dan. He should be your go to guy there if you need help.

Now for the blogs…

Ken:

I knew when I started this challenge that this week was coming. It was going to be the pivotal point. In the past I have went on clean eating programs and would lose 7-10lbs and then complacency would set in. I would skip my HIIT workouts and just lift at the gym. I would reward myself with Cabernet Sauvignon and Hersey kisses after dinner. I would not stop after one cookie but grab a small stack and possibly go back for another stack.  Slowly the pounds would creep back and I would begin to feel lazy, heavy and frustrated again. So as the first three weeks went by and I lost weight I knew a tough week was ahead. Would this time be different knowing I had pictures and accountability to answer to?

It didn’t disappoint in the challenging department. My kids leftovers stared back at me when I cleared the table. The treadmill in the basement felt like a torture device and the bottle of Cabernet invited me to have another and another after that. It was a struggle at times but in the end I felt OK about the week.  That was until I stepped on the scale this morning.  204- that is only about a half pound less that last Sunday.  Shit.  My waist didn’t change in diameter either- 38 inches.  I guess this is the stalled weight loss I read about all the time.  I have to be honest and say I’m disappointed.  I had four great workouts at the gym on the New Rules fat loss program, I got in one HIIT session on the treadmill and all I have to show is a 1/2 pound loss.

I’ll be out of town the next two weeks and away from my usual gym and my usual routine.  My eating options will also be limited since I will be staying in a hotel with only a refrigerator.  It will be a bit warmer where I’m going so maybe I can fit in some different cardio.  I certainly didn’t want to head into these two weeks frustrated and disappointed.   As I said earlier, this is a pivotal point.  If I want different results then I must do things differently than in the past, meaning, I’ve got to trust the program.  I’ve got to stay on course and not let disappointment be the theme for the next week.

Craig:

So what can I say about this week? Well I lost 5lb off the scale to start, two inches off my chest and close to an inch off my waist. This has been my first week of really “on point” nutrition and I’ve been getting enough sleep as well. In my long day at school (8 hours) I took all my food and didn’t miss a beat. Also I decided to switch all my grocery shopping from Publix (if you have that around you) to the nearby, but incredibly large, Farmer’s Market. It’s great and they have every type of food you could want. I grabbed some organic skim milk and some freshly made cilantro pesto among other things.

Also this week I blazed through season one of Deadwood. People who scoff at television as a waste of time, to me, are idiots blindsided by their own ego. The acting and music alone blew me away, I’m suprised HBO can put out so many quality shows wiith such engaging characters and stories. My reading schedule has been slow this week, swamped with schoolwork. Despite all this I hope to get some time in reading today.

Larry:

I am sometimes too easily swayed by what I see, read, or hear most recently. Although I had a careful, well thought out training routine that has given me the results that I have desired for quite a while, I decided to “mess things up” by going to a 5 set routine from a three set routine for rows, bench, and deadlift, and the extra strain debilitated my shoulder for a good couple of days (“A man has to know his limitations” – Clint Eastwood as Dirty Harry). Seems better now and the lesson I learned is; occasionally try something new, but not at the expense of what I know works, and don’t overdo it, as I tend to do.

I my “perfect life” I would lose about a pound a week from operating at a calorie deficit and about a pound a week from the extra calories burned from weight training and cardio work. This last week, because of some sloppy eating issues and the shoulder mess, I was able to lose just one additional pound going from a starting weight of 205 to 203. The bodyfat numbers on my Tanita scale have gotten too weird to report, but if a realistic trend reoccurs, I will gladly post the results here.

Had the opportunity to participate in the Accountability Conference Call on Sunday afternoon. After hearing the voices of Ken and Amanda (Batty, took me a while to figure out who she was on the blog) and now truly feel connected to all of us trying to either gain or lose, tighten and tone, but all focused on making positive changes in our overall fitness, health, and appearance. Kevin as host, does great work for all of us, donating his time and wisdom to help us achieve our goals, thanks & good luck everyone!

Batty:

I hate The Biggest Loser. I mean, the intent is good, but I think it gives the general public unrealistic expectations on losing weight.  For instance:

Image
This is, from what I was told, the weight loss progress for all the biggest loser contestants who actually weighed in.
Now, I dont know about the rest of y’all, but when I record my weight loss progress, it looks more like this:

Image

[image credit:the hacker's diet]
And, for most people, what happens is that they don’t pay attention to the trend, instead focusing on the fact that they are up a pound or two from the previous week, do something drastic like severely restricting their calories, end up binging because they’re restricting too much, which makes things worse.
I am completely guilty of this.

This week was….eh. Nothing great, but then it didnt suck, either. I stuck to my calorie/macro goals again – I have that down to a science. The first couple days coming off of the great Valentines Day Sugar Binge was sheer hell. I was moody and bloated and just not very pretty. I am just going to avoid refined sugar no matter what.

One of my goals last week was to start attempting to do some chinups/pullups. Which I did. Badly. But hey, I tried. Then, while I was perusing my list of fitness blogs I read daily, Leigh posted her pullup workout program for the masses. COINCIDENCE? I think not. It was like she was speaking directly to me, y’all. Shut up, that’s exactly what she was doing. Regardless, I did get a lot out of that post and will plan accordingly.

I had one of those doomsday moments in terms of the weight/fat loss. I’ve become really in tune with my body, and I can just feel if I’m not where I’m supposed to be. And I wasn’t for most of the week. This was solidified when I had my weight taken on Thursday at the doc for my knee checkup, and the scale there said 160, and I am internally screaming “NO! THIS ISNT RIGHT! DEDUCT WEIGHT FOR MY CLOTHES AND I’VE EATEN TWO MEALS ALREADY AND I MIGHT HAVE AN EXTRA POUND OR TWO OF BELLYBUTTON LINT AND SHOES! I AM WEARING MY SHOES!! THEY’RE HEAVY!! AND I *JUST* WEIGHED MYSELF YESTERDAY AND I AM GODDAMN 153 AAAAAAIGH”

And this is where I’d pull something drastic, like eat nothing but celery and dust bunnies for a day, then get so amazingly hungry that I’d go out and kill a cow myself and eat it all in one sitting. Instead, I tried to stay level headed as much as  I could – I have to admit I did do a little mental freaking out – like, what if what I’m doing isn’t working anymore? What if I’ve hit my next plateau? WTF am I gonna do? I also stuck to my guns with my calorie goals as well.
Friday’s weigh in showed nothing changed. I am still at 153, and 15.9-something% BF vs. 16.33% last week, maybe that’s operator error. Despite this, something did change visually:
So, ok – this is, again, PWO and I am completely posing and using the basement lighting to my advantage. BUT. No amount of posing, lighting, or even photoshopping could have helped me achieve this effect previously. I have never been able to pull off something like this before in my life. Of course, I want to be able to have this without standing like Ed Grimly with a wedgie.
The numbers aren’t telling me much, but the pictures are.
Hell, I can even see a bit of change in the non posed version:

[note to self: make sure sport bra is straightened out before pictures. this week's jaunty hat courtesy of my 4 year old.]

This still gives me some hope and motivation to keep going. I also inadvertently worked out 7 days in a row last week. I didn’t realize this happened until Saturday.
Oh. I did give up cheese and it was nothing. Saturday, my “free” day, I ended up tracking, and I have decided that bread is also no longer worth the massive amount of bloating I get from it. so that will stop, too. Any type of Saturday bread urges will be satisfied by the creative use of oatmeal. I also think my “free” day isn’t going to be so free from now on.
I am somewhat cautious, concerned, and slightly confused because of how close I cut it this past week. there is a little voice in my head that says to reduce my calorie goal by 100 this week and see what happens, and I dont know if I should listen to it.

I think too much.

Michelle:

I am writing this as I’m watching the best thing I ever ate. I’m not sure why I like to torture myself like this but Carrie can testify that this is what I do. I like to suck her into my torture too by sending her baking recipes; she hates me most of the time… I think I’d kill someone for a Levain bakery cookie right now.

Ok, enough of that. This week was much better than last week. The pictures don’t seem to show that but in my mind it was better than last week. I made it to the gym five days, I survived Tony’s new program (barely) and the nutrition was pretty good. I think I still need to crack down further on the eating but Carrie and I have had this conversation before and she’s said that if nothing else, this contest has helped us not eat like assholes. Because that’s really how I was eating. So going into this week that’s my goal for going forward, really crack down on the eating and sticking to Brian’s diet he has written for me. It’s going to be tough because I do have dinner plans twice this week. Oh and I have two bridal showers next weekend. No idea what the food situation there will be but it’s going to be a tough week. Shit, I have a baby shower at work tomorrow too. Ok positive attitude here, I can do this. According to Kevin I just have to get through the first seven days, seeing how we’ve been at this for three weeks now, I’m not sure how that logic applies but maybe logic is lost on me. Two things before I head to bed: I tried the infamous trx workout thing at scla the other night and damn near died – not sure how you’re holding up with that Luke but good job if you’re still at it. And two, I met a trainer at scla today that also works at MBSC with Kevin and almost cried when he told me this entire contest was on facebook. I knew it was I just didn’t want to believe anyone else outside of this group was paying attention. Focusing on the diet is what I’ll be doing…

David:

Hey Everyone,

Well at the end of last week I looked over my photos, and I was initially somewhat disappointed. Then I set the photos side by side with the photos from week one. It’s not a night and day difference, but I do feel like it is becoming evident that I am going through a change.

My goal this week is to go a little “leaner” and cut back on my calories some. Nothing drastic, but hopefully by next week I will feel like I have made a little more of a difference. I am going to stay high on my protein, as I am continuing to focus on my bench. My 1st quarter fitness test is scheduled for March 18th, so I will be stressing until that point. I will post my results from the last test and this one after I take it. One area of the test I haven’t been focusing on is the “explosive” part, the Illinois Agility Run (for you fitness freaks out there). I have never had very good explosive speed, and with my past history of ankle injuries, I know this isn’t ever going to be a strong point for me. Having said that if anyone has advice on working on getting off the ground and running quick please let me know. I’m way open to the advice.

Overall I am feeling really good about this whole experience. I am feeling stronger, my clothes are fitting better, and I am still really motivated.

I am glad to see everyone else is really going full speed too and staying with their programs. I’m looking forward to reading all your posts this week too.

Take care and stay strong.

DW

Tim:

Here’s last week’s workouts:

2/18
1. Squat, 115×15, 115×15
2a. Static lunge, 65×15, 65×15
2b. DB single-arm row, 30×15, 30×15
3a. Push-up, 15, 15
3b. Swissball crunch, 20, 20

2/21
1. BB DL, 135×15, 155×15
2a. Step up, 60×15, 60×15
2b. DB single-arm overhead press, 30×13, 30×11
3a. Chinup, 5, 5, 4, 4
3b. Reverse crunch, 12, 12, 12, 12

I have one more week of break in before I get to move to the next phase.  I’m definitely looking forward to greater diversity in the workouts, and having it be a more consistent part of my routine instead of only twice a week I think will be a good thing, too.  The pictures don’t really show it, but the I do feel better.  I’m starting to remember how good it felt to hurt a little the next day.

@Robert, don’t worry…I have you beat in the “these pictures all look the same department”!

Nutrition is insanely inconsistent.  Trips to the grocery store are like death by analytical paralysis.  I would almost be willing to give up on cooking and just pay someone $x/day for meals that I just eat and don’t have to worry about.  I’m really interested to see how Aaron did with his diet this week.

That’s it for now.  Good luck to everyone this week!

Rob:

I can pretty much sum up this week’s blog in three words: Girl-Scout-Cookies.  No really though, this was a rough week in the discipline department.  We celebrated my wife’s birthday, my dad’s birthday and valentine’s day all in the same week.  So my week was full of deliciously healthy food, broken up by small mini-binges.  My main hurdle right now is lack of sleep.  I wake up at 5 am, drive 45 minutes to the hospital where I have clinical until 1 pm. Drive another 30 minutes to campus for class all afternoon, then drive 1 hour home to eat dinner and go to work until 10 pm.  Needless to say, I lack the energy for a good workout and I’m not waking up soon enough to plan my meals for the day.  The good news is, the weather is going to warm up soon, I’ve been picking some stuff out of “gourmet nutrition”, and I’m feeling like I’m on the upswing from last week.  My goal this week is to start measuring my food so I can start accurately dialing in my caloric intake and to get on a more consistent training schedule. Even though I’m disappointed my week three pictures don’t look like the “after” pictures of a hydroxycut ad, I’m still glad I’m doing this accountability and I know it’s going to be a good thing for me.

Carrie:

Each week I sort of dread writing my blog a little. Whether it’s because I didn’t make it to the gym enough, or wasn’t as strict as I could’ve been in my nutrition, I’m just tired, whatever the reasons may be. But once I start to actually write it, I get that re-energized feeling about why I’m doing this. And I find myself looking forward to Kevin’s posts to see everyone’s pictures, and reading all of your blogs make me smile and laugh, because we really are all going through the same ups and downs. One that really hit me this past week was Robert saying how he was going to be the only one with the same looking pictures week after week, and how even if he didn’t make drastic life changes the first day, he’s making steps every day to make better choices and change his habits for the better. This is what I’ve decided to keep telling myself.

A little lesson in accountability: For those who don’t know, I happen to be close friends with Michelle (that’s her up there, half naked, just like me) and we’re typically in constant communication with each other. We’ve gotten into a routine where we’ll text or call each other in the morning to get both our asses out of bed and to the gym. One morning I was super tired and said I was skipping it since I was just going to do cardio. She decided she was going anyway since she was up. After lying there a little while trying to fall back asleep, the guilt got the best of me. All I could think of was, it’s 5:30AM, it’s freezing out, and poor Michelle is trudging her poor ass to the train station all the way into Boston to get to the gym. Me? I have a car starter and about a ten minute commute. I may have been a little late, but I got there.

We also get to train together at Cressey Performance on Saturdays. I know people will think I’m crazy for saying this is a highlight of my week, but it’s true. I wasn’t able to train there consistently for some time and missed it something awful. I never feel I’ve worked as hard as I do when I leave there. People also know we’re a part of this and always ask how it’s going, etc. Brian St. Pierre said I looked like I’d lost weight since I started! He also told me that others will notice a difference before you do – you see yourself everyday, and are constantly nitpicking and focusing on what you think your trouble areas are. So everyone keep that in mind! Heck, even Kevin made an appearance this past weekend. Always good to see you and to trash talk a little (thanks for adding those 2.5lb plates to the bar dude). [Editors note: I just laughed my ass off reading that].

I’m tired, a little sore, and have some minor aches and pains in my hip and back, but I’m looking forward to a new week. And I hope to make every week better than the last. I’m attending a wedding in two weeks, and want to look awesome in my dress. Smallish goals. Baby steps.

Aaron:

I am trying to gain muscle. Desperately. To that end I thought I’d start using pictures that reflect that goal. No more pics of me standing like a creeper in my hallway, we’re DOING IT LIVE with pictures that actually show my muscularity. Or lackthereof at this point. So here I am at 6am monday morning. Please excuse the nipple hair… it’s winter in MN.

On to the blog! Let’s go with a two-part entry for this week: First we’ll lay out the training plan I have been tinkering with, and then an update on how things are progressing overall so far…

Training Breakdown: 170 to 195lb Project

In my first post I mentioned that I would be following Waterbury’s Big Boy Basics programs… well after further reflection I felt the need to create my own plan and really take ownership of it. Something I’ve read over and over is that “without investment there is no follow through”. I kept the rep schemes and the concept of explosive lifting, switched out a couple of exercises and rearranged some of the frequency . Not a complete overhaul, let’s just call it Aaronbury’s Big Boy Basics.

I set this up based on planes of movement, similar to the approach in NROL. I weight-train Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Monday and Wednesday I do a short ab routine, 25-30 Pullups sporadically over the course of the evening and maybe a very light jog (1 mile). The jog isn’t meant to be anything more than a reason to get up off the couch and a refresher after sitting all day at work. Fridays are completely off, and consist of either an evening out with friends, a date with the pre-wife or extensive Modern Warfare 2 on 360.

Tuesday: BB Bench, BB Row, BB Shrugs, DB chest fly

Thursday: Back Squat, BB Mil Press, Ham Curl w/ swiss ball, BB bicep curl, db tri kickbacks

Saturday: DB Inc Bench, Cable Row, DB chest fly, Upright BB Row

Sunday: Back Squat, DB Seated Mil Press, SLDL, Inc DB Bi curls, tri cable pressdown

Set-rep schemes undulate from session to session (8×3 & 3×8) for most exercises. I’ll try to put together an Excel file to share next week. I just hand write it now, but I’d like to make it printable.

The no-fat, organic, cage-free, low sodium Wrap up

Training-wise I’m getting back into the swing of things after taking the month of January off. I have taken January off for the last 3 years and I think it’s added years to my life. In day-to-day life I’m am one of the most-friendly people you will meet; in the gym I have absolutely no patience. My heart goes out to sincere New Year’s Resolutionists, it really does; I just wish they would pick up a book or a pamphlet on how not to be a complete tosser in the gym.

I really like the program I’ve put together and over the past 3 weeks I’ve made a good deal of progress in terms of poundage and stamina. Hypertrophy is soon to follow. Compliance has been great, I’ve only missed 1 workout so far after jumping on the grenade at work and putting in a 16 hour day last Thursday.

Nutrition-wise… I touched on this a bit last week but I’m still finding a bit difficult to consume all the food. It’s getting better and I’m getting more consistent with it as I make it more of a priority. Compliance has been 80%, and I’m always above what I need on protein. I just need to do some fine-tuning on carbs and I should be squared away. Weight is up 2lbs, measured every other morning.

Courtney:

Okay, this is a little late but there is actually a good excuse. I was SO focused on going to bed last night so I could get up super early
for a workout before I got to the office that I totally forgot to write my update.

Well, this week wasn’t nearly as good as the previous. Actually the week itself went pretty well. I worked out, ate decently with lots and lots of fresh veggies and fruit and even had my first session with my personal trainer. Lamont is really great. He has also worked as a physical therapist and helped me work out my shoulder harder than I can on my own. There are still some limitations on what I can do (yes, I was the girl pressing with 12.5 lb hand weights :P ) but it was really amazing to do shoulder work without any pain after years of pushups making me want to cry. We worked out a program where I will be doing mostly cardio, leg work and my PT exercises and then weights with him once a week until I have built up enough strength to work my shoulder without help with stabilization.

This weekend was a total wash. My boyfriend came into town from Mississippi and we celebrated his birthday with dinner at a Moroccan restaurant on Friday and then dinner and drinks out with friends on Saturday. Oh well, I maintained, I didn’t do any permanent damage and I am totally dedicated for a perfect month until PAX East, at which point I will try to do as little damage as possible.

Lucas:

I’ve been overweight basically since I stopped wrestling about 12 years ago.  Yes, I’ve gotten in shape here and there only to put it all back on.  So, I know that it can be HARD to lose weight.  The longer you keep the fat on your body, it seems like the harder it gets to take it off and keep it off.  Well, my mother’s weight struggles have lasted for 32 years (ever since she gave birth to me because she was on bed-rest for around two months – Sorry about that, Mom – I hope I was worth it).  Well, my Mom has become a true inspiration to me.
You see, last March she set a weight loss goal of 70 pounds, and as of last week she has lost all of it.  No that’s not a typo… My Mother has lost SEVENTY pounds in just under a year!!!  I know she felt like she would never reach the goal when she first started (kind of like I feel sometimes), and I know she had lots of ups and downs.  She stuck with it, though, and I couldn’t be more proud of her.  She is the same wonderful woman that she’s always been, but she’s just in a much smaller package.  I just wanted to publicly say congratulations to my Mom.  Great job, Mom!!!  I love you.
Now, back to my own weight loss battle…
Training:
Monday – Rest Day
Tuesday – 5/3/1/ Lift – Front Squat & 1-Arm DB Row with a timed circuit at the end
Wednesday – Infamous TRX Workout A – Phase 3 – it gets a lot harder in phase 3
Thursday – CSI:NY Interval Workout (I ride the stationary bike at a moderate pace during the show and go hard during the ads)
Friday – 5/3/1 Lift – Deadlift & High Incline DB Press with a timed circuit at the end
Saturday – Infamous TRX Workout B – Phase 3 – this one was brutal – damn you Alwyn Cosgrove!
Sunday – I was supposed to do a 30 mile bike ride, but it was rained out
Nutrition:
I was a good boy all week until I went to my in-law’s house for my mother-in-law’s birthday.  I made the mistake of not taking any of my own food.  Lesson learned.  Next time, I’m taking a cooler full of the good stuff, and I don’t care how much crap my brothers-in-law give me.  I ate way more carbs than I’m used to, and since I missed my gravel road ride, those carbs weren’t put to good use.
I still had a pretty good week.  My lifts are feeling great, and overall my diet has been pretty good.  I only lost a half of a pound, so my weight as of this Monday morning was 216.  I did hit 213 earlier in the week, so I’m hoping that some of this weight is from a carb-bloat.
My goal for this week is to eat according to my plan all week with no exceptions.  No scheduled cheat meals, and no unexpected cheat meals for me this week.  I will also get some form of training in every day this week.
That’s it for this week.  Again, congrats to my Mom.  I hope we can all follow in her footsteps (except for those of you who are trying to pack on muscle, of course).  Until next week, buh-bye for now.
Accountability

Client Spotlight: Kim (New Beginnings)

Posted by Kevin Larrabee On February - 23 - 2010

Kim started training with me last year. She started training four days a week and saw some amazing result. From getting stronger doing pull ups, push ups, trap bar deadlifting, and most importantly when she looked in the mirror. Also there was the whole, “My pants don’t fit anymore!!! They are too big!!!” Then life got in the way. Kim couldn’t train any longer because of a busy teacher’s schedule, working on her house, and she is planning a wedding (for this June!). This brings me to the spotlight. She wants to look her best for the wedding (who wouldn’t!).

Kim has always kicked ass with the training. The nutrition has been the sticking point. She was inspired by the FitCast Accountability Bloggers and with what Leigh and I are doing with Destination Abs. So…She wanted to do it as well.

I sat down with her and told her this was going to be tough, even suck. Dieting sucks, I don’t care if you are doing a detox diet or the 1 lb a week diet. It still sucks. I modified the Destination Abs program for Kim to guarantee success if we can keep the train on the tracks. Kim will also be journaling her progress on this site each week with pictures and a blog.

Kim will be training three days a week with a strength training program I developed in conjunction with the calorie deficit. There will also be some metabolic training mixed in to accelerate things without too much extra volume.

Now the floor is Kim’s. Come on FitCast Community, please give her some support! I know she will really appreciate it!

___________________________________________________________________________________

February 21, 2010

I started training with Kevin a year ago.  I chose him because he is simply miles better than anyone else around.  His knowledge is incredible, and for someone who is going to have such an impact on my health and well being, I wanted nothing sort of the best.  If I were going to get surgery, would I want a doctor who just does it as a fall back career, or would I want someone who lives and breathes surgery?  Because that’s what some “trainers” are, people who failed at some other career and this was a fall back. For a trainer I wanted someone who’s life was his work.  That is Kevin.  He has been thoroughly educated in learning how the body works, and he continues to study and learn more every week.  I ask, “Kevin, what are you up to this weekend?” and he tells me he’s reading up on training. He has earned my complete trust.

As you can see from my pictures, I have not accomplished all of my goals.  When I first started with Kevin a year ago I started to see great results, but then I lost my focus.  Quite simply, life got in the way.  Work ramped up, family members with health issues, and then I got engaged, which really shifted my focus with all of the planning that needed to be done.  I was eating what was convenient, and giving in to treats that crossed my path.  Being a teacher, I see pizza being sold every Friday, cupcakes for every birthday and I have a weakness for macaroni and cheese.  It’s tough to say “no” every time, but, alas, here we are.  Look at where it got me.  My drawers are filled with clothes that no longer fit, and I have a wedding in just under 4 months!

So what are my goals? Lets start with where I am now.  At my physical last month I clocked in at 5 foot, 3 inches, and 157 pounds!  (My doctor even told me to loose weight.) So between the doctor, and my upcoming wedding, I am very motivated to get this going.  I need to trim down and get buff!

Kevin will get me there!  I want to see those abs again and fit into that bathing suit that I use to wear when my fiancé and I first started dating.  I will do it! I’m excited to start seeing those muscles that I know are under there from our strength training.

Accountability, Blog Posts

Episode 168: Amazing Discoveries

Posted by Kevin Larrabee On February - 21 - 2010

Get this Week’s Episode:

MP3 Download/iTunes/RSS/Odeo


Hosts:

Kevin Larrabee (Twitter) and Leigh Peele

FitCast News

  • T-shirts are in
  • FitCast Accountability Blog
  • Valerie Waters, Adam Bornstein, Todd Durkin
  • What up Leigh?

Mailbag:

  • Hey Kevin, not sure if you saw the latest lawsuit against Jillian Michaels for false advertising claims on her fat lost pills (http://blog.ultimatefatburner.com/2010/02/15/jillian-michaels-sued-for-false-advertising/) but thought it would make for good dialogue on the show.

    Cheers,

    Kyle

  • Kevin quick question, im interested in doing 5/3/1 and incorporating it into a fat loss style program. What are your thoughts / ideas on how to go about doing so. I think you said you were going to try to do that within your last phase of destination abs. I was thinking of using the 4 main lifts but incorporating bb complexes on two of the days. Thoughts? Good idea or bad idea? -Katie
  • Happy winter guys and gal,

    It has been snow & ice on the ground for over 6 weeks, and I want to do
    a few running events this spring with friends, but I cannot do any
    speedwork outside on this sludge.  What kind of weightlifting program do
    you recommend for someone doing mid-range running? 5k to half-marathon?

    Robin an American living in freezing Berlin.

  • Hi Kevin,

    First of all, thanks for the FitCast. It’s been a great source for me to get useful information about training and nutrition. It’s real hard to find that knowledge here in Scandinavia. I’m a swede living in Norway for the moment.

    Anyway, I would really appreciate if you could help me out. After about 4 month without workouts due to mono I will now start to get back in shape.

    I’ve decided to take it real easy and focus on movements and mobility for three months. During this period I will work almost exclusively with bodyweight.

    The reason for this is that I had a lot of issues with both hips and shoulders prior to my sickness. As if that were not enough I also have been suffering from a chronic jumpers knee since i was a teenager. Today I’m 34.

    I think my shoulder problems comes from a dislocated shoulder a couple of years ago. While I don’t have any good explanation why my hip hurts.

    On the last podcast you mentioned some books I think could be useful, Bulletproof Knees and a book from Mike Boyle. What books would you recommend me to read?

    What also appreciate any other advices you might have.

    Keep up the good work Kevin!

    Best Regards
    Peter

  • Hey,
    Just started listening to the fitcast and i love it. i have two questions for you guys.

    first of all, will you be going to the arnold fitness expo in columbus ohio the first weekend in march I know a lot of the fitness people are coming and i live here so i was seing if you guys would be coming out to take part in the activeities. let me know if you guys are i would love to meet you.

    Second of all.
    I just started training and i can’t afford a personal trainer but im having trouble coming up with a schudeled to keep. do you guys have any ideas on how i could get a routine that will help me get great results

    thanks
    Nathan

  • Hey Kevin and fit cast crew. I have a sort of double chin that I am really self conscious about. Its not really bad, but it bothers me. If I gain weight, it seems to show in my face first. However, over the last year I have literally gotten to as low body fat % as I can. I have very well defined abs, and I am at the point where trying to lose any more body fat would require a ridiculous amount of sacrifice and commitment. But I still have that little bit of fat in my neck/chin area. I know that you always say that spot reduction doesnt exist. But is there anything else that I can do? I see people that easily have10% more body fat than me, but it doesnt show in their face at all. It really frustrating. In a way, losing so much fat has almost made it worse, because now, even if I gain a few pounds back it all goes to my face. Any suggestions are welcome. Much of the reason we train is for confidence and physical appearance. It is frustrating to put so much effort into my body and still have this thing that bothers me. Friends have said: if you really feel so self conscious about it, just get surgery. I really want to avoid that route. -Ben
  • I work-out in my home gym and I was wondering what would be a good book of exercises I can keep in my gym area so I can easily look up exercises while working out. I know I can do the same thing online but since my computer is not in my gym area I was hoping to find a good written resource. Thanks so much for your input!!- Karen
  • Hi Kevin, Dr. J, Tony and whatup Leigh!
    I want to say how much I love the Fitcast–thanks for the great guests, the awesome discussions (poop talk was one of my faves!), and the endless knowledge bombs.
    This question is for Leigh, and is about food.
    First, my history: I am a 37 year old mother of two who recently completed Alwyn Cosgrove’s Afterburn. I came out of those 16 weeks leaner than I’ve been in my adulthood, and weighing what I did way back in my early college days. I lost 13 pounds and in six weeks dropped my body fat by 6 points. Still waiting for final measurements, but I’d say I’m within about 7 pounds or so of where I probably should be weight-wise to achieve 18% bodyfat, which is my goal. I have dieted in some form or another for a lot of my adulthood, and feel like I constantly learn new things about my relationship with food.
    I did extremely well, and was very disciplined following the nutrition plan in Afterburn–I even got through Halloween through New Year’s relatively unscathed. However, at about week 12 or 13 I hit a wall, and that’s when the binges started.
    I don’t have a history of bingeing (although overeating I suppose is a form of bingeing and I certainly did that for many years), and maybe it has more to do with my awareness of what I eat, but I am troubled and concerned by the behavior I’ve been exhibiting lately.
    The trigger can be anything from a hormonal change (that old monthly thing), to stress, to just eating ONE bite of my husband’s dessert. Then, once I’ve opened the door a crack it’s like all the processed carbs, sugars and fats come storming in and I honestly just LOSE CONTROL. It is like some sort of psychotic break because while it’s happening I am not able to rationalize with myself or make myself stop. A few times I’ve even thought about purging afterwards, although I never have. I tend to wake frequently the nights after this happens with thoughts of what I ate, berating myself and generally feeling like crap. This isn’t healthy behavior, and while I realize it, I am wondering what tools I could use to try and manage it. I have never experienced anything like this before. It is hard because I really push myself in the gym, and am usually very disciplined with my eating, and I don’t want these episodes to hinder my progress. I also just don’t want to feel the way I do afterwards, physically or emotionally.
    I appreciate any insight or references you could point me towards. Thanks again for a great podcast and keep up the great work, all of you!
    Thanks, Michelle

    ps I vote for grey tees, Kevin. But get some girl shirts, please!!

Episodes, Featured

Destination Abs Finale

Posted by Kevin Larrabee On February - 17 - 2010

Finish Him!!!

Alright folks, time to finish thing thing off. The last few weeks I was lax with my diet. Psychologically I needed a break. I was dealing with a lot of real world stuff, but that is no excuse. After that vacation from dieting, I am ready for the home stretch. Leigh and I have it planned for 80 days. 80 Days until Abs. After those 80 days, this isn’t over, I still have muscle to build and bench/deadlift/squat numbers to increase.And no, that isn’t 80 straight days of being in a deficit. I am using guidelines from The Fat Loss Troubleshoot and Body by Eats (The two best diet and nutrition books I have found).
What We Have Learned About Kevin

This experience has been fantastic for me in terms of setting up diets and adjusting for all the variables, especially psychological ones. Leigh and I have learned that I am a all go or no go type of person. I already knew this in terms of life. I can’t do things at 50%. It is 0 or 100%. Like Yoda said, ” Do or do not. There is no try.”
So where does that leave us now? I am back to being in a nice deficit, and psychologically I am in the position I need to be to succeed. I am locked in. I even have motivational pictures with the goal picture that Leigh made a few months back. I have about 15-20 lbs to drop.

Now, let’s get this done. The time is now. Come along for the ride.

Destination Abs

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