Monday January 10, Day 7

Post by Ashley and Gerard

Came across this article while searching for information on intermittent fasting and thought it was relevant to this blog and a positive reminder for anyone who exercises.

The article is geared towards individuals looking to gain lean muscle mass by training for strength by proper training and eating, but is relevant to anyone who works out. I guarantee you, you aren't going to hear some one with a fitness goal of gaining 25 pounds of belly fat and losing muscle.  The message is to focus on your goal, be consistent and you will achieve it.  For those of us who are looking to build strength/gain lean mass , this article advises to focus on 3 main things to achieve success:

·         Progressive Loading (adding weight)

·         Getting enough calories (take in more than you use to build muscle, eat clean to not build fat).

·         Consistency

Do these 3 things and you will increase strength and muscle mass. (muscle=lean body mass=higher metabolism=lean sexy gorgeous new you).

This is also true in order to keep current muscle mass but lose fat. (Do the same things but take in less calories than you burn).  Do this with clean calories..Paleo dieting.. sound familiar?

·         Continue to increase weight and intensity (as we get stronger) and practice what you suck at in order to break plateaus. 

·         Eat a reasonable amount of calories (enough to support our daily activities but not so many that we gain weight and not so few that we lose energy and possibly muscle mass)

·         Stay consistent (results don’t happen overnight, but remembering that with a consistently healthy diet and regular exercise, you will always be moving in the right direction.)

Meal Description	Ashley	Gerard
Breakfast/morning snack	-          1 apple (at 4:30am…sooo hungry and can’t sleep) -          Entirely too much coffee -          2 eggs 2 egg whites -          2 pieces turkey bacon	-          6 eggs scrambled -          4 pieces turkey bacon -          2 cup coffee -          1.5 oz almonds
Lunch	-          1 apple -          Cup of hot and sour soup -          Chicken leg (baked)	-          8 oz roast beef (crock pot) -          ½ cup carrots -          ½ sautéed mushrooms -          water
Snack	-          cup of turkey chili	-          1.5 oz almonds -
Dinner	-          4 oz pork loin -          9 oz  stir fry veggies	-          Bowl of turkey chili -          4 oz pork loin -          Stir fry veggies -          water

Exercise

Ashley

Gerard

Warm up Stretching: hamstrings, quads, calves, back Foam roller 10 air squats 10 twisting  lunges 1 minute plank 1 minute left plank 1 minute right plank 10 jumping lunges 60 leg  levers 10 double unders Work out 50, 40, 30, 20, 10 Double unders Box jumps Time:  12:35 Post Workout 10 GHD sit ups 5 weighted back extensions 10# Felt light headed, and it was super cold in the garage today

Warm up Stationary bike Rolled out Squats – increasing by 10# each set Bar – 135# - 3 on the minute 135#-185# - 2 on the minute 185#-205# - 2 every 3 minutes (205# after 4 minutes rest) Rested 4 minutes 2X215 (f) Then Thruster-Pull up ladder (1st minute = 1 rep each, 2nd minute = 2 reps each, etc) performed at 60% of 2RM FS (125#) Completed 6 reps of each Post Workout Snatch grip DL  1X10 at 125# Straight leg DL  1X10 at 125#

Sleep:

Ashley:  10:00pm?-4:00am - couldn’t sleep, had something to do for school, then 5:30am-6:45am, nap from 1:00pm – 2:00pm
Gerard:  10:00pm?-6:45am

I'm almost positive the alcohol was at fault for making me feel a little bloated and funky Sunday morning.  I ate the exact same thing for dinner and feel great (other than being incredibly tired...)  Next experiment will be to stick with a couple glasses of wine, but I'm still pretty positive it was the beer.