- Power Whey Protein (upon waking and before sleeping)
- One A Day Men's Multivitamin (before sleeping)
- Creatine (upon waking and before sleeping)
- Co-Enzyme Q10 (an anti-oxidant taken after breakfast)
- Glutamine (after workouts)
I already had PowerBlocks (dumbbells) from a while ago. The plan was to take these supplements and do alternating workouts three times a week for the first two weeks, and then gradually increase the rest days (following the schedule provided in the Four Hour Body). The excercises I prescribed myself were as follows:
Workout Plan A
3 min rest
Overhead press - Set to failure of a maximum of 7 reps
3 min rest
Squats (with dumbbells) - Set to failure of a maximum of 10 reps
I found this system easy to follow. The total excercise time is very low (maybe 15 min). The supplementation isn't too complicated and I never had noticeable pain after workouts, despite doing sets to failure.
Unfortunately, I stopped adhering to the protocol. On day 12 I started a 10 day vacation. I was used to having 12 oz (355 ml) of milk with my protein (35 g) but I was sharing a limited supply of milk and could not use as much. I also did not have the use of my dumbbells while on vacation; I used bodyweight excercises as a substitute.
Unfortunately my measurements have not changed much. My biceps have increased a little from 25 cm to 27 cm which is good. My waist has stayed about the same which is really good. These measurements are subject to human error so I will assume that I am roughly the same now as I was when I started. My weight actually dropped from 125.6 to 123.4 pounds. I am hoping that the numbers mean I have lost some bodyfat and maybe gained a little muscle as my proportions seem to have changed a bit. The difference in my appearance, however, is only slight.
Rather than become discouraged, I'd like to use this setback as a motivation to make the program more challenging and airtight.
What went wrong? There are three elements to this regimen: nutrition, excercise, and supplementation. All of them need to be adhered to strictly in order to be effective.
My nutrition is not the best but it is also not the worst. I stuck with the supplements very well for the first two and a half weeks. I almost never eat white bread. I often eat whole wheat or flax pasta instead of the bleached stuff. I eat fruits (mostly citrus, bananas, and apples) and choose chicken and beef but not pork (I do my best to avoid sodium). I try not to consume any soda or fruit juice. The problem may just be not eating enough. In other words, I may not be getting enough energy from my food and my system steals that energy away from muscle production.
I've never been big on excercise but I was very consistent (before going on vacation) and found myself looking forward to it. The amount of time excercising might be too short and the variety might not be enough to stimulate muscle growth, so I'm proposing a new workout routine:
Push:
-incline bench
-dips
-shoulder press
Pull:
-pull-over
-bent row
-shoulder shrugs (2 sec pause at top)
Legs:
-squats (with dumbbells)
-cable hip adduction
-straight leg dead lift
-standing calf raise
NOTE: For all of the excercises, my goal will be 1 set of 7 reps. If I reach 7, I will increase the weight by 10 pounds at the next workout. Again, refer to the muscle directory at exrx.net to find out what these look like.
I'm also going to increase my protein intake by doubling the protein I put in my morning and evening shake as well as eating at least 3 eggs at breakfast.
I've just purchased some new supplements too:
-Vitamin B6 (for dream re-call)
-Vitamin D3 (for boosting testosterone production)
-Alpha Lipoic Acid
Tomorrow I'll be doing the first workout from the new routine (push) followed by a days rest (maybe yoga) and the next day will be pull and so on. We'll see how it goes. Wish me luck!
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