I’VE BEEN SLACKING AGAIN.  The last 3 weeks have resulted in only 2 workout days each.  The 7-meal-per-day plan has shrunk down to about 4 meals a day, and the only positive thing I can say is that somehow the amount I can squat keeps increasing. 

My last workout day (Thurs), I did 210 lbs. on the squats.  It hurt like heck, but I did it.  Afterward my back was pretty locked up, and it prevented me from doing some of the supplemental back exercises, but I can live with that.  Hopefully by next post I will have some huge improvements in workout and diet to report.

I knocked out 5, and the 5th one came up slow. “I’m struggling at 5?!? This isn’t good”. Anger quickly crushed that thought. Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten. Adrenaline pumping through my veins now. I got to 10. Only 10 left. YOU CAN DO THIS! Over some time I finally got to 15. On my way up my head was turning red, and my left knee wobbled a little. The look in my eye was almost enough to scare myself. The last five reps were pure will-power…but I got them up! Twenty!!! Whoo hooo. The weight slams down into the rack and I drop to my knees almost instantly. What a feeling!

The scale was up as well. I am now 176 lbs. I’m determined to finish this program out strong. There’s no doubt that I will be able to exceed the 225 lb goal for squats, but gaining the full 15 lbs is going to be my real challenge. I just need to stay with the program and most importantly:

EAT CLEAN, AND TRAIN MEAN!

My solution:  Egg Whites International.  I’ve been researching all over the net and find nothing but good things about this company and their product.  In a nutshell, it’s liquid egg-whites.  But instead of having to break shells, it comes in a half-gallon or gallon container, and you can even get a reusable pump for the top (which I will definitely be getting).  You get 26 grams of protein per cup, and it’s the consistency of milk.  So you can mix a cup of this with whey, and throw a couple tbsp. of peanut butter in there and you have an awesome shake.  (If you want some other recipes, check this out.)

My plan is going to involve having the same 7 meals, but using the egg whites for 3 or 4 of them each day.  I will figure out what I need to add to them to keep the protein/carbs/fat pretty close to my original meal plan.  This will cut my prep work down considerably because I can eat breakfast at home in the morning (no pre-prep needed), and then only need to bring one meal for lunch (and a few egg white meals).  Look for the recipes I use  in upcoming posts. 

If you want to try the egg whites yourself, click the picture.  If you want to wait until you hear about my experience with them, just remember to subscribe to this blog so you don’t miss anything.

For those of you that know me…or read the first Post in this blog…when I don’t workout, I don’t eat.  This weekend my diet was horrible.  I hadn’t gone shopping, so my normal meal plan was out the window.  Instead I threw a bunch of tuna and salmon packets into my backpack along with a bunch of Easy Mac-n-cheese and a tuppaware container.  Then at work I would make mac-n-cheese, and throw one of the fish packets into it.  But since that wasn’t enough food to fill me up…hey look…I sit next to a snack fund.  Is there anything healthy there?  Not a chance.  I talked myself into believing that oatmeal pies were healthy, but only believed it long enough to devour it.

Anyway…on to the workout.  I increased the squats another 5 lbs (190 lbs), and was able to finish all 20 with good form.  I added 50 lbs to my deadlifts (from 225 to 275), and did 2 sets of 4.  Even bench went up to 95 lbs dumbbells.  Not a bad workout.

But I dropped a pound of weight on the scale.  I’m back on track though…this time I hope for good.

I am seeing some size gains in my arms and despite the 4000 cals/day, I am sporting a decent six-pack.  I guess there is something to “squats work the whole body” after all.  Taking Friday off and then will see how I feel on Sat to determine if I will workout Sat or Sun.

That’s all for now.  Make sure you subscribe so you can see how this ends.

I started off using the formula that was given for the Squats and Milk routine, but it ended up being too light.  I’ve been adjusting it up since then and last night I finally felt like the 20th rep was the last one I could possibly do.  I increased the weight 10 lbs. since the last workout and am up to 180 lbs. now.  Perfect weight…and now I can start going up by 5 lbs. each time.  My legs were noodles for the last 3 reps, and I had to catch my breath for about 5 seconds in between each one. 

The 20th rep came up slower than usual, but my form was perfect.  As soon as I racked the weight I collapsed onto the cage and slid down until I was kneeling with my head down catching my breath for about a minute.  AHHHHH!!!  I love that feeling!!!  I pushed myself.

The rest of the workout showed slight increases in weight, reps, or both.  I am definately increasing my strength.  There is no doubt about it.  I also weighted myself on the “much more official” scale at the gym.  I am at 175 lbs now.  I GAINED 5 POUNDS IN 7 DAYS!!! 

I’m pretty beat today.  I don’t know if it is from only getting 6 hours of sleep last night or if it is from last nights workout.  But just in case I will take two days of recovery instead of just one.  Next workout is Thursday!

All scales are not created equal

Happy Monday.  I managed to get through my 1st weekend without a hitch.  Sticking to my diet and workout have been fairly easy.  I do all of my cooking for the following day at one time, and have gotten it down to about 30 min (with cleanup).  I worked out on Day 5  (Saturday) and it was GREAT!!!  I did 170 lbs, and felt like I could have done more.  Although having that much weight on my shoulders for that long was a challenge.  Around rep 18 I felt pretty light-headed, and when I finished I felt pretty wiped-out.  I just knelt down on the floor and hugged the cage for about 45 seconds before moving.  I haven’t felt that feeling in quite some time and I LOVE IT!

I tried to mix Meal 7 together in a food processor last night (oats, cottage, and peanut butter).  It wasn’t bad, but tasted like cream cheese.  Again, cream cheese isn’t bad, but imagine eating about a cup and a half of it all by itself.  I may switch things so that the same shake I have for Meal 1, I have for Meal 7 as well.  It tastes great with peanut butter and oats.  Yum!

Tonight I will attempt to jump up another 10 pounds on squats since I still feel like I’m not at 100% by the 20th rep.  I will keep doing 10 pound jumps until I feel maxed, and then will go back to the 5 pound jumps. 

Am I gaining any size?  I don’t know.  My scale said I was, then said I lost even more than I started, then said that I was back up again.  I did a test on my scale, and stepped on it 5 different times with 5 different results.  They varried from 165.8 to 173.8 all within 20 seconds.  Cheep piece of crap from IKEA!  I will start weighing myself at the gym pre-workout, and might take measurements again today just to see for myself if I am gaining size.

Eat Clean, Train Mean!

Meal 1
3/4 cup oats
1 banana
1 cup water
2 tbsp peanut butter
1 scoop whey isolate powder
Blend all into a shake

Meal 2
6 oz yogart
1 oz crushed almonds
2 cups kashi cereal
1 scoop whey isolate powder
Mix all up.  Tastes pretty good actually.

Meal 3
5 oz chicken breast
1 cup brown rice
1 apple diced
1.5 tbsp olive oil
Mixed all together into a stir-fry

Meal 4
3 whole eggs
3 egg whites
1 cup broccoli
1 cup brown rice
Mixed all together into a fried rice mixture

Meal 5
5 oz chicken breast
1 cup broccoli
1 oz crushed almonds
Mixed all together (noticing a pattern here?)

Meal 6
1 cup broccoli
5 oz chicken
1.5 tbsp olive oil
1 cup brown rice
Mix all together

Meal 7
1/2 cup oats
1 cup cottage cheese
2 tbsp peanut butter

I am eating every 2 hours, and so far it is not bad.  I did all of the cooking at one time last night for todays food, and plan to keep cooking the next days food each night.

That’s all for today. 
Eat Clean, Train Mean!

Jeremy

None for me thanks.

I didn’t post anything from Day 3…but here’s the cliff-notes. I finally drank a full gallon of milk. The results: diarea, stomach cramps, bloating…and believe it or not…wheezing. That last symptom concerned me a bit so I researched it. At first I was positive that I was lactose intolerant…but that didn’t explain the wheezing. Then I read about cow’s milk intolerance, which has most of the same symptoms as lactose intolerance, but they are different. Lactose intolerance is a problem with the digestive system not producing lactase. Cow’s milk intolerance is an allergy to cow’s milk. Since I am allergic to everything else in the world, there’s no reason to believe that I’m not allergic to cow’s milk…especially with all of the symptoms.

So, Day 4 I decided to consume zero milk. By noon I stopped wheezing, and all other symptoms disappeared. That is a MAJOR problem with the Squats and Milk workout. I will not be drinking anymore milk, and instead am just going to continue doing the workouts but instead of the milk I am going to be doing this other 4000 cal diet that I pulled off of a forum on bodybuilding.com. Tomorrow I will tell you more about the diet, but I’m pretty excited about it. I cooked all of my meals for tomorrow at one time tonight. It took a little while, but I didn’t mind at all. I think that I can gain the 15 pounds in 6 weeks even WITHOUT the milk. And if so, then I will have a new regiment for people to use who can’t consume the gallon of milk that this workout is supposed to require.

Today’s weight:  172

Workout:  Since it was too easy last time I added 30 pounds to the squats (for a total of 165 lbs).  PERFECT amount.  When I got to the 9th rep I had doubts that I could finish.  After the 15th rep I had to pause for about six to ten breaths before doing each of the last five reps.  When I finished my lower back was a block of cement and my legs were screaming!  I love it.  I also did:
2 sets of Deadlifts with 225 lbs
3 sets of bench
3 sets of chins weighted with 10 lbs.
3 sets of bent rows
3 sets of military presses

This kid must be on the squats and milk workout too.

Yesterday was a recovery day, so my post will be short.  I failed to drink the required one gallon of milk yesterday, but came close.  I think I was about a quart shy, but I also read that you may have to work your way up to it so I’m not beating myself up too bad over it.  I actually could have drank the rest of it last night after we took the children to the Zoo Lights at the Washington Zoo in D.C.  In fact, I was actually thirsty before I went to bed.  But I didn’t because my stomach was so bloated already I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to get to sleep if I subjected myself to another dose of white liquid.  All day long my stomach was tore up, and at one point I lifted my shirt to look, in pure amazement, at my huge bloated stomach.  Do you know those pictures of malnurished kids that they show on TV to guilt you into sending money.  Well I looked like I ATE a few of those kids.